Home Health and Wellbeing

Address both the objective and subjective aspects of community’s wellbeing, especially post crisis.

Sub themes on this page: Social & Mental Wellbeing, Safety, Comfort, Pollution

Social & Mental Wellbeing

Offer spaces, services, and activities where the promotion and development of human vitality and wellbeing is materialised. As social and mental wellbeing are outcomes of good urban planning and design, there are several general and context-specific principles that can be considered and applied towards urban reconstruction efforts in post-crisis cities and neighborhoods for this purpose.

Strategies

Biophilic design principles
Happiness mapping and place making
Equalise wellbeing
Decentralise services
No honking zones
Nature For mental and social wellbeing
Wellbeing for children
Wellbeing for the elderly
Social capital through activity
Promotion of the arts

Alignment with WorldGBC principles:

Health & Wellbeing Framework: 1.3 Improve Mental Health, 2.5 Ensure Inclusive Design, 3.1 Ensure Biophilic Design, 3.2 Ensure Outdoor Nature access & Biodivesity, 4.1 Promote Activity & physical Health in design, 4.2 Encourage Good nutrition hydration & social connectivity, 5.1 protect human rights, 5.3 improve quality of life, 6.1 Commit to Climate Change mitigation, 6.2 Design for Resilience and adaptation action.

Stakeholders to involve:

Local government agencies
Municipalities
Civil society representatives
Subject matter experts

Safety

Provide integrated safety and disaster risk mitigation/prevention planning and management measures over the life cycle of the reconstruction process of cities whilst maintaining the wellbeing of all stakeholders. Explore effective measures which priorities safety for all stakeholders at all development levels, in the context of a health pandemic.

Strategies

Handle Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) clearance
Prioritise safe public spaces and accessibility
Plan for disaster risk reduction
Promote public health and safety
Check for construction / structural soundness
Plan for construction process safety

Alignment with WorldGBC principles:

Health & Wellbeing Framework: 2.5 Ensure Inclusive Design, 5.1 protect human rights, 5.3 improve quality of life, 1.4 Reduce infection Disease Transmission, 2.5 Ensure Inclusive Design, 5.1 protect human rights, 5.3 improve quality of life, 6.2 Design for Resilience and adaptation action.

Stakeholders to involve:

Municipalities and local governments
Public works regulatory bodies, specifications and standardization regulatory bodies, H&S specialists, EIA specialists, material engineers, and contractors
Structural engineers
Citizens and built environment users

Comfort

Encourage occupant wellbeing by ensuring thermal, visual, auditory, and olfactory comfort. Encourage beneficial lifestyle practices which include good nutrition, hydration, and social connectivity.

Strategies

Conduct a comfort review data gathering (quantitative and qualitative)
Perform comfort analysis
Utilise comfort related outcomes and recommendations
Plan for thermal comfort
Plan for proper lighting and visual comfort
Plan for acoustic comfort
Integrate urban biophilia
Empower community perception and ownership
Consider other outdoor environment quality

Alignment with WorldGBC principles:

Stakeholders to involve:

Local government agencies
Municipalities
Civil society representatives
Subject matter experts

Pollution

Approach pollution mitigation and prevention through a comprehensive, integrative, and multi-disciplinary design approach, and elaborate on the preservation of air, water and soil quality to minimise health risks.

For optimum protection against harm which also encapsulates human wellbeing, the theme provides mitigation strategies for other sources of pollution such as noise and light.

Strategies

Limit and mitigate air pollution
Limit and mitigate water pollution
Limit and mitigate soil pollution
Limit and mitigate noise pollution

Alignment with existing WorldGBC principles:

Health & Wellbeing Framework – 1.1 improve air quality, 1.2 improve water quality , 5.3 improve quality of life, 6.1 Commit to Climate Change mitigation, 6.2 Design for Resilience and adaptation action,2.2 Maintain Exemplary Lighting, 2.3 Maintain Acoustic comfort, 5.3 improve quality of life

Stakeholders to involve:

Each design discipline
Scientists and researchers
Client
Community
Cost/Financial controller
Local heritage advisor
Operation and facility manager
Contractor and construction manager
Government and local authorities

Theme Tools:

Estidama Pearl Rating System 2010: Livable Communities LC-12: Safe and Secure Community
CASBEE Urban Development 2007: QUD 2.4.4: Crime Prevention Performance (Surveillance and Territoriality)
The Northern Territory Government Community Safety Design Guideline
IBC and ICC requirements
Regulate safety audit procedures and guidelines, and conduct them on a regular basis, especially for road segments that have a past record of accidents
Envision Standard
FEAM
UNISDR BBB
WELL Health and Safety Standard. 2021.
Estidama Pearl Rating System for Community and Buildings
WorldGBC Health & Well Being Framework
Existing local Standards & Regulations
WELL Building Standard
Fitwel
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standard
Existing Standards & Regulations
WELL Community Standard
IES/ASHRAE 90.1-2013
IES-ANSI RP-8-14
BS 5489-1:2013
IES RP-33-14 – classifying lighting zones
IES Lighting Handbook 10th Edition
EN 12464-2:2014
EPA. A Citizen’s Guide to Bioremediation: https://www.epa.gov/remedytech/citizens-guide-bioremediation
World Health Organization. 2005. Air quality guidelines. Global update 2005. Particular matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press.
World Health Organization. 2017. Guidelines for drinking-water quality. 4th ed. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press.
WHO Health Organization. 2018. Guidelines on sanitation and health. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press.
Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Dark Sky Association (IDA). 2011. Model Lighting Ordinance (MLO) User Guide for information on determining the project’s lighting zone.
LEED v4 Building Design and Construction
World Green Building Council. 2020. ‘Health and Wellbeing Framework’

Sub theme: Social & Mental Wellbeing

Astell-Burt, T., Feng, X., & Kolt, G. S. 2013. Does access to neighborhood green space promote a healthy duration of sleep? Novel findings from a cross-sectional study of 259 319 Australians. BMJ Open, 3, e003094.

Beatley, T. 2016. Handbook of biophilic city planning and design. Springer.

Blackmore, R., Gray, K. M., Boyle, J. A., Fazel, M., Ranasinha, S., Fitzgerald, G., Misso, M., & Gibson-Helm, M. 2020. Systematic review and meta-analysis: The prevalence of mental illness in child and adolescent refugees and asylum seekers. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(6), 705–714.

Mykletun, A., Bjerkeset, O., Øverland, S., Prince, M., Dewey, M., & Stewart, R. 2009. Levels of anxiety and depression as predictors of mortality: The HUNT study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 195(2), 118-125.

Mytton, O. T., Townsend, N., Rutter, H., & Foster, C. 2012. Green space and physical activity: An observational study using Health Survey for England data. Health Place, 18(5), 1034-1041.

Peen, J., Schoevers, R. A., Beekman, A. T., & Dekker, J. 2010. The current status of urban-rural differences in psychiatric disorders. Acta Psychiatria Scandinavia, 121(2), 84–93.

Powdthavee, N. 2008. Putting a price tag on friends, relatives, and neighbors: Using surveys of life satisfaction to value social relationships. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 37(4), 1459-1480.

Rashid, T., & Baddar, M. K. A.-H. 2019. Positive psychotherapy: Clinical and cross-cultural applications of positive psychology. In L. Lambert & N. Pasha-Zaidi (Eds.), Positive psychology in the Middle East/North Africa: Research, policy, and practise (pp. 333–362). Springer.

Roe, J., & Aspinall, P. 2011. The restorative outcomes of forest school and conventional school in young people with good and poor behavior. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 10(3), 205-212.

Roe, J., Aspinall, P., & Ward Thompson, C. 2017. Coping with stress in deprived urban neighborhoods: What is the role of green space according to life stage? Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1760.

Schwanen, T., & Wang, D. 2014. Well-being, context, and everyday activities in space and time. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 104(4), 833–851.

Taylor, M. S., Wheeler, B. W., White, M. P., Economou, T., & Osborne, N. J. 2015. Research note: Urban street tree density and antidepressant prescription rates – A cross-sectional study in London, UK. Landscape and Urban Planning, 136, 174-179.

Troy, A., Grove, J. M., & O’Neil-Dunne, J. 2012. The relationship between tree canopy and crime rates across an urban–rural gradient in the greater Baltimore region. Landscape and Urban Planning, 106(3), 262-270.

Umberson, D., & Montez, J. K. 2010. Social relationships and health: A flashpoint for health policy. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(Suppl), S54–S66.

Veronese, G., Pepe, A., Cavazzoni, F., Obaid, H., & Perez, J. 2019. Agency via life satisfaction as a protective factor from cumulative trauma and emotional distress among Bedouin children in Palestine. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1674.

Veronese, G., Pepe, A., Sala, G., Yamien, I., & Vigliaroni, M. 2019. Positive experience, psychological functioning, and hope for the future as factors associated with mental health among young Sub-Saharan internally displaced people (IDP): A quantitative pilot study. International Journal of Mental Health, 48(3), 165–187.

Villeneuve, P. J., Jerrett, M., Su, J. G., Burnett, R. T., Chen, H., Wheeler, A. J., & Goldberg, M. S. 2012. A cohort study relating urban green space with mortality in Ontario, Canada. Environmental Research, 115, 51–58.

Walther, L., Amann, J., Flick, U., Tam Ta, T. M., Bajbouj, M., & Hahn, E. 2021. A qualitative study on resilience in adult refugees in Germany. BMC Public Health, 21, 828.

Weinstein, N., Przybylski, A. K., & Ryan, R. M. 2009. Can nature make us more caring? Effects of immersion in nature on intrinsic aspirations and generosity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 1315-1329.

Zelenski, J. M., Dopko, R. L., & Capaldi, C. A. 2015. Cooperation is in our nature: Nature exposure may promote cooperative and environmentally sustainable behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 42, 24-31

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 by UNDRR outlines seven clear targets and four priority areas for actions that can prevent new disaster risks and reduce existing risks

Sub theme: Safety

Envision Rating System.(n.d.). American Society of Civil Engineers ( ASCE). https://www.asce.org/envision/

UNDDR. (2015). The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. UNDDR

UNISDR. (2017). Build Back Better in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. UNISDR

WELL Health and Safety Standard. 2021. International WELL Building Institute

Sub theme: Comfort

BCO. 2018. ‘BCO Wellness Matters’. http://www.bco.org.uk/HealthWellbeing/WellnessMatters.aspx

European Commission. 2019. ‘Health Effects of Noise’. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/noise/health_effects_en.htm

European Commission. 2020. ‘Environmental Noise’. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/noise/index_en.htm

GSAS Construction Management Guidelines and assessment. 2016 V2.1-issue 2.0.

USGBC. (n.d.). Neighborhood Development Plan. https://www.usgbc.org/credits?Version=%22v4%22&Rating+System=%22Neighbor…

Laaidi, K.,et al. 2013. ‘Cold spells and health: prevention and warning’. Public health, Vol. 127(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.02.011

USGBC. (n.d.). LEED Communities. https://www.usgbc.org/credits?Version=%22v4.1%22&Rating+System=%22Cities…

Meng, X.W: & Setoguchi, T. 2010. Development of Urban Design Guidelines with Wind Tunnel Simulations for Downtown Districts in Winter Cities – New Urban Design Approaches for Cold Region Cities. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, Vol 9(2). DOI: 10.3130/jaabe.9.355

Public space site-specific assessment Guidelines to achieve quality public spaces at neighborhood level, UNHABITAT For Better Urban Future. https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/07/final_pssa_v.1_reviewe… pressed.pdf

USGBC, LEED v4.1 Cities and Communities: Planning and Design, April 10, 2020

Renner, R. 2018. Urban Being: Anatomy & Identity of the City. Niggli Verlag.

Lydon, M., & Garcia, A. (2015). Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Action for Long-term Change.

UN Habitat. (2012). The Global Public Space Program. www.unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2019/05/global_public_space_toolkit.pdf

EPA. (n.d.). Heat Island Cooling Strategies. https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/heat-island-cooling-strategies.

WELL. (n.d.). Thermal Comfort. WELL Communities. https://v2.wellcertified.com/community/en/thermal%20comfort#

WELL. (n.d.).

Thermal Comfort. WELL Communities.https://v2.wellcertified.com/community/en

Mikyoung Kim Design. (2009). Chapel Hill Streetscape and Lighting Master Plan, ‘Design Manual: Sustainable-Initiatives’.https://townhall.townofchapelhill.org/agendas/2009/06/15/1/master_plan/pages_from_mykd_chapelhill_masterplan_section11.pdf

World Green Building Council. 2020. ‘Health and Wellbeing framework’. https://worldgbc.org/health-framework

Sub theme: Pollution

Everything Connects. ‘Noise Pollution’. https://www.everythingconnects.org/noise-pollution.html

Hurley, et al. 2014. ‘Light at night and breast cancer risk among california teachers’. Epidemiology, Vol 25(5). Doi:10.1097/EDE.0000000000000137

Legates, at el. 2014. ‘Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect’. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Vol 15(7). Doi:10.1038/nrn3743

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2018. ‘Polluting our soils is polluting our future’. http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1126974/

World Health Organization. 2006. ‘Air Quality Guidelines Global Update 2005’. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/78638/E90038.pdf?ua=1

World Health Organization. 2013. https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1

World Health Organization: Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater – Volume 1 (2013): https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241546824

World Health Organization. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). https://www.who.int/health-topics/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-wash

Everything Connects. (2013, 20 11). Noise Pollution. https://www.everythingconnects.org/noise-pollution.html

Hurley, et al. 2014. ‘Light at night and breast cancer risk among california teachers’. Epidemiology, Vol 25(5). Doi:10.1097/EDE.0000000000000137

Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Dark Sky Association (IDA). 2011. Model Lighting Ordinance (MLO) User Guide for information on determining the project’s lighting zone. https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/
Legates, at el. 2014. ‘Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect’. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Vol 15(7). Doi:10.1038/nrn3743

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2018. ‘Polluting our soils is polluting our future’. http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1126974/

World Health Organization. 2006. ‘Air Quality Guidelines Global Update 2005’ https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/78638/E90038.pdf?ua=1

World Health Organization. 2013. https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1

World Health Organization. (2013). Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater (Vol. 1). https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241546824