Assessment of the relationship between urban environmental characteristics and resident health

Many previous studies have shown that the urban environment may affect human health directly or indirectly. However, those studies have primarily focused on particular aspects of the urban environment and lack an overall perspective. Therefore, this study aims to clarify and identify the urban elements having strong relationships with human health from a broader standpoint. To achieve this goal, multivariable analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between each urban element and resident life expectancy, using data from a comprehensive, nationwide assessment of whole cities in Japan. The results show that the life expectancies of males and females are affected by different urban elements and that moving toward healthier cities will require taking these differences into account.