Urban Sprawl Summary

Diabetes and Urban Sprawl Analysis
In the video series Designing Healthy Communities, Richard Jackson, MD, MPH examines the connection between Type II Diabetes and urban sprawl. Analyzing the information in the video will provide a critique of the message delivered, in addition to determining its value towards improving public health. This will be done by summarizing the video, relating the information presented in the video to other resources, critiquing the presentation and value of the information, and offering insight in regards to the video presentation and any ways to improve upon it.
Video Summary
In this episode of Designing Healthy Communities, Jackson asserts the design of modern society has contributed to many public health issues like obesity and Type II Diabetes. He points to the car-centric design of modern society which leads to less exercise and many hours of sedentary activities like driving automobiles. Jackson asserts that because a common epidemic is affecting everyone with the same symptoms, it must be something about the environment that is the cause. Jackson suggests a new method of designing communities to combat this trend and promote a healthier community.
Textbook Relation
Chapter one outlines the five target areas that programs can focus on to promote, protect, and improve public health. Two of these targets relate directly to the material in the video in this regard. The communities in the video promote healthy behaviors by encouraging the community to be active and social. The video also references how suburban sprawl can lead to isolation, especially in elderly people who can no longer drive. Communities like those in the video protect the elderly by providing interaction and community interaction which can improve their overall