Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to observe attributes of the built environment along all throughfares surrounding four elementary schools within an urban Midwestern city. Data highlight barriers and opportunities related to human and environmental health. Research assistants observed all thoroughfare within a one-mile radius surrounding each school. All data were collected by foot, bike, or car. Community accessibility and safety attributes were recorded and descriptively reported. Overall, data suggest a lack of accessibility to fresh fruit and vegetables. Descriptively, there were minimal differences between the four school environments on all safety variables. For the thoroughfares surrounding all schools, 78% had sidewalks, 85% had working streetlights, and 9% offered bike lanes. Over 85 unused green spaces were observed with potential for community use. Urbanization offers a strategic opportunity to design communities that actively promote both human well-being and environmental sustainability. Future research should employ Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to systematically map community areas and school vicinities. This approach enables precise spatial analysis, facilitating the identification of environmental factors influencing public health and education.

Keywords

environment, human activity, human health, mental health, mortality rates, urbanized communities