In 2022, the United States allocated over $4 trillion to healthcare, yet public health outcomes remain suboptimal, with high rates of preventable diseases and disparities in mental and physical well-being. The built environment—an essential but underexplored determinant of health—shapes urban populations' exposure to environmental risks and influences key health metrics. This study evaluates the relationships between built environment characteristics and health outcomes across 19 major U.S. metropolitan areas, incorporating diverse climates, urban designs, and geographic contexts. Utilizing methodologies such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to extract building characteristics from Google Street View imagery and machine-learning models like XGBoost, the research identifies critical factors affecting health outcomes. Key variables, including building material composition, foundation types, air conditioning prevalence, and land coverage, were analyzed alongside health indicators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings reveal significant associations between the built environment and public health, with lead contamination linked to adverse outcomes, while traditional materials like wood and masonry correlated with better mental health metrics. Air conditioning availability emerged as a critical variable positively influencing both physical and mental well-being. Geographic variations underscored the role of regional design and environmental factors in shaping health disparities. This study bridges gaps in existing research by offering actionable insights for urban planners, policymakers, and public health advocates, emphasizing the importance of addressing environmental hazards and promoting high-quality urban design to improve population health.

Cities navigate a delicate balance between order and spontaneity, with Tokyo exemplifying this tension. Through the frameworks of Roland Barthes (Empire of Signs), Adolfo Lagomasino (Theory of the Dérive), Rebecca Solnit (A Field Guide to Getting Lost), and Ralph Waldo Emerson (Nature and Other Things), this paper examines how Tokyo’s meticulous urban design manages the world’s largest metropolis while often suppressing spontaneity. Systems like zoning laws, public transportation, and green spaces are analyzed for their impact on behavior and experience. Innovative zoning strategies, while masking lines of segregation, segment the city into controlled zones, limiting fluid engagement. Similarly, Tokyo’s efficient transit system minimizes opportunities for serendipity, and even its public spaces favor order over chance interactions. Case studies of Marunouchi District and Shibuya Station reveal how this focus on structure creates environments where spontaneity is constrained. While rigorous planning ensures stability and efficiency, the absence of unplanned experiences diminishes opportunities for emotional and aspirational fulfillment. This paper argues that urban design must balance detailed planning with space for unstructured human experiences, vital for dynamic urban life. By exploring the costs and benefits of order versus disorder, Tokyo provides a lens for understanding the impacts of highly structured environments and offers lessons for cities striving to integrate both structured encounters and spontaneous explorations. The research proposes a conceptual framework to navigate this spectrum, encouraging urban designs that accommodate freedom, flexibility, and inclusivity alongside stability and control.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that public buildings, including university campuses, be accessible to individuals of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. As such, university campuses must comply with ADA standards to meet the diverse needs of students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Initiatives like Universal Design and organizations such as the American Association of People with Disabilities and the National Council on Disability have advocated for more accessible designs in products, services, and environments. These efforts influenced the 2010 edition of the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Despite these advancements, there is a lack of studies that assess whether college campuses are physically accessible for students with varying mobility needs.

This qualitative study uses an auto-ethnographic approach and multiple research methods to evaluate the physical accessibility of common routes on a college campus and in an academic building. Four participants with different mobility levels: two able-bodied people, a person using a manual wheelchair, and a person using a powered wheelchair, traveled different campus routes to identify accessibility barriers. For the campus assessment, travel and movement on campus covered four routes with different destinations, including travel from the student’s workstation to a dining hall, library, an academic success center and back to the student’s workstation. For the building assessment, three common routes with different destinations were studied, including travel from the parking lot to the student’s workstation and then to an accessible bathroom and a lab space.

Findings indicated that while ADA Standards set minimum accessibility requirements, they often fall short in practice. Participants using wheelchairs faced multiple barriers, such as uneven surfaces, steep slopes, inadequate table heights, poorly placed door push buttons, and insufficient space for maneuvering. These barriers highlight the need for additional research on accessibility on college campuses to ensure inclusivity for all students.