On Public Health and the Built Environment

"Aside from those who follow the history of public health, not many people remember John Snow, but it might be a good idea if they did. In 1854, London was in the midst of a cholera outbreak that killed more than 600 people. The prevailing medical belief was that cholera was the result of 'miasma'” essentially bad air. Snow didn't believe it. He thought the culprit was contaminated water. He trudged across London mapping the outbreak and examining water pumps, and deduced that victims were getting sick from microbes in the water around one of the pumps. He had the pump's handle disabled, and the epidemic receded.

"Snow couldn't know it at the time, but he had created the modern discipline of public health - attacking the diseases that afflict large numbers of people rather than ministering to individuals one at a time.

"In the years since then, public health has accomplished a great many remarkable things, some of which we appreciate and some of which we don't."

A recent article in Governing Magazine explored the connection between public health and the built environment.

To access the complete report, please visit:

Governing: Is the Design of Our Cities Making Us Sick? (March 2022)