Entrance-

Public spaces can improve health outcomes. As a holistic idea and as a practical way to improve a neighborhood, city, or area, placemaking is a collaborative process of reshaping the public sphere – community streets, parks, and other public spaces – in order to maximize shared value.

 - Susan Silberg،

The place industry encompasses a wide range of strategies and projects, ranging from farmers ' markets, community parks, public squares, to efforts to make streets more pedestrian-and cyclist-friendly. But the place industry is not only about the result of an improved place, it is rooted in the process itself – observing, listening to, asking questions to people who live, work and play in a particular area to understand their specific needs and aspirations for the place. Even beyond the tangible benefits that placemaking projects can bring, the very process of forming a place can have powerful social benefits that, in turn, are ultimately associated with positive health outcomes .

Regular physical activity is necessary to improve overall health, physical fitness and Prevention of a number of negative health consequences. For adults, the benefits of regular physical activity include maintaining a healthy weight, improving cognitive function, reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer and depression.

Physically active young people also have better bone health and a lower risk of gaining weight and developing chronic diseases in adulthood. It has also been found that physical activity “protects the nerves,” which helps protect against diseases such as Alzheimer's. Brain scans of active individuals show a much larger amount of gray matter compared to their less active peers, which is associated with a larger brain health and improved memory.

These results can be achieved by making behavioral changes, as research has shown that individuals who increased their physical activity over a 5-year period experienced noticeable increases in the function of the gray matter in their brains. To maintain optimal health, children and adolescents need 60 minutes of physical activity per day.

In a study conducted in 2008 in Ontario, Canada, researchers found that children who lived one kilometer from a park that had a playground were almost five times more likely to be at a healthy weight compared to those who did not have playgrounds in nearby parks.

A review of research on the impact of childhood obesity prevention strategies found that creating or improving access to parks and recreational facilities, along with information awareness, is among the most effective interventions to promote physical activity.

But in addition to the importance of physical activity in the fight against obesity and related diseases, play and Interactive Entertainment have shown that it is a vital part of the processes of social, emotional, cognitive and physical development of children in their early stages.

Some researchers suggest that as a result of the increased time spent by children in electronic media, as well as greater parental restrictions on their autonomy, children and young people have increasingly fewer opportunities to engage in active play.

For example, in 2010, research by the Kaiser Family Foundation determined that children aged 6 months to 6 years spend an average of 1.5 hours a day with electronic media, while young people aged 8-18 years spend an average of 6.5 hours a day on electronic media.

Children are severely affected by the lack of places for play and physical activity. Due to the lack of resources for school and after-school programs, the lack of safe play areas, and the scarcity of time and resources on the part of caregivers, the lack of opportunities for active play is especially critical for children .

Both the availability and the quality of Parks and recreation facilities significantly affect the ability of people to be physically active. Qualitative research on the physical qualities of gardens shows that factors such as safety, attractive aesthetics, suitable facilities for use across life stages, good maintenance and cleanliness, proximity to people's homes all encourage more frequent use of gardens. The social environment of the garden also influences its use and results.

Several studies have indicated that safe and supportive social environments in the park are especially important for women and girls, while participation in cleaning and planting gardens has helped teenagers develop a sense of belonging and pride in the neighborhood. Furthermore, involving community members in the garden planning process may create spaces that more effectively balance the specific needs of population groups that vary according to age, gender, and socioeconomic status .

Case study —

Farmers Market in Flint, Michigan

Moving a public market to the city center improves access to food and health-related investment…

From the very beginning, the market had great potential to address some of these pressing public health issues, but for a while it was not achieving the goal. Although the Flint Farmers Market was already a staple of the community with an established customer base, its vendors and management knew it needed some major capital improvements. It has always been a year-round indoor market with a large number of seasonal sellers in an outdoor hangar, however, it was clear that he had outgrown his facility. Eventually, the market moved (in 2014) to the much larger and centrally located former printing building of the Flint Journal.

The decision to bring the market back to downtown was part of Uptown Reinvestment Corporation's 32 million dollar redevelopment project that included an integrated strategy to bring more people to downtown، And provide more space for sellers, and provide more community services. With the new, larger location, the market could become a mixed-use community destination. The new building allowed for major upgrades and expansion, and is twice the size of the Old Market, accommodating twice as many vendors. The facility also has space for other facilities and functions, such as a community room, a rooftop terrace for private events and dining, and also contains Flint Food Works, a culinary incubator for local businesses.

A study conducted by Richard Sadler at the Michigan State University College of human medicine in 2016 highlights the effects that transportation has had in improving access to healthy food in an underserved community with few options available for choosing a nutritious food. Based on comprehensive surveys and analysis of customer data and buying habits before and after the transition (in 2011 and 2015), this research highlights not only how issues of access to food and health are successfully addressed in low-income communities, but also speaks about the multiple benefits of proximity and services located together in the revival and reinvestment of post-industrial urban cores.

The new Flint market has addressed accessibility and affordability issues for many low-income residents, and just a year and a half after its relocation, the Flint Farmers Market is quickly becoming a valuable community asset. So much so that in 2015, the American Planning Association named the market as one of six “great places in America.”

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