The Physical Environment and Health: Implications for the Planning and Management of Healthy Cities

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Background

In recent years, the demand for quality of life has dramatically expanded, and all people strive for a healthy and fulfilling life. Numerous health behaviors/outcomes/issues, such as physical activity, obesity, diabetes mellitus, stress, depression, high blood pressure, and health inequalities, have received considerable attention from governments, society, academia, and so forth. The physical environment (the geographic area and factors around us) is an essential determinant of health behaviors/outcomes, which is also revealed by the socio-ecological model. Understanding the complicated connections between the physical environment and health behaviors/outcomes is of decisive importance.

Since the World Health Organization proposed the concept of “healthy city” (“one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and in developing to their maximum potential”) in the last century, healthy cities have been extensively discussed, explored, and advocated across the globe. Improving the physical environment is a critical element on the road to healthy cities. In addition, recently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has hit the world at a breakneck pace. Developing healthy cities to fight against COVID-19 is indispensable. The experiences (not only a strategic framework but also nuts and bolts) of cities in fighting against COVID-19 and the implications for the planning and management of healthy cities, especially those related to the enhancement of the urban physical environment, can be collated and summarized.

Scientific advances are expected to bring together governments and society toward healthy cities. This Research Topic is a platform to share the latest insights and findings of the physical environment and health, especially those with profound theoretical, methodological, and practical implications, to promote scientific advances, and to provide research support for policy development and evaluation. It also aims to elicit immediate attention from governments, businesses, researchers, and individuals and galvanize penetrating and thoughtful discussions on the physical environment and health.

We welcome submissions of Original Research Articles, Review, and Mini-Review covering, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Connections between the physical environment (e.g., built environment, extreme heat/cold, urban flooding, water/air/soil pollution, transport/food/living/housing quality) and health behaviors/outcomes
• Health implications of new city concepts such as healthy cities and 15-min cities
• Urban/City design to benefit human health
• COVID-19 implications for the planning and management of healthy cities
• Urban resilience during pandemic disruption and climate change: Challenges, planning, and management
• Resilience management, governance, and policy formation for healthy cities

Keywords: Physical Environment, Built Environment, Healthy City, Health Behavior, Well-being

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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