11th of January 2018 gave me a different perspective to lands and urban development and its effect on the health. I and some of my colleagues visited the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development specifically the Town planning department.
Prior to now, I had always thought there was no much relationship between Medicine and lands and urban development.
The relationship is really much and it has a vast implication on the health.
Lands and Urban Development
The ministry of lands and urban development is divided into three departments.
- Department of Town Planning
- Survey Department
- Land Department
Department of Town planning was the exact department we visited.
The job of town planning was formerly done by sanitary operators. Town and cities were discovered by accident or careful planning.
Enugu state in Nigeria for instance was discovered by accident. The discovery of coal was the reason Enugu was discovered and the carting away of the coal was what led to the building of railway station.
Abuja state, the capital of Nigeria was dicovered by careful planning.
Functions of Town Planning
The department of town planning formulates schemes and design the facilities that should be there.
There are three broad functions of town planning. The include
- Guiding the use of land
- Protecting the use of land
- Preventing the inconvenience of the nextc door neighbour.
Health and Town Planning
As most famously articulated by Whitehead and Dahlgren, this states that health is a function of a person's socio-economic and environmental circumstances, as well as hereditary and personal influences.
A region that is not properly planned and densely populated can be a major cause of an outbreak in a community.
With this in mind, lets look at examples of some rules in town planning and its health implication:
A. Adequate space between the fence and the building, minimum of 3meters
Benefits:
•This is to ensure circulation of air.
•Provision of septic tank
•To ensure there is space for fire service to go round the plot if there is a fire outbreak
B. Minimum height of fence:2-5meters
Benefits:
This is to ensure circulation of air
C. Ensure all rooms have double windows
Benefits:
This is to ensure circulation of air
D. Houses should not be built close to a tension wire.
If they are anywhere close, it should be at least 15meters both ways away from the high tension wire.
Benefits: This is clearly to avoid electrocution.
E. Houses should not be built close to a mast.
If they are anywhere close, it should be at least 30meters both ways away from the mast.
Benefits: This is to avoid radiations coming from the mast.
F. Minimum standard of rooms: 3meters by 3meters
Benefits:
This is to allow space for the bed and to ensure circulation of air.
G. Distance of Head room, thatvis distance from ceiling to floor: 8meters
Benefits:
This is to ensure circulation of air
H. Plant trees around the house
Benefits:
This is to ensure release of oxygen from the plants.
I. Some other don'ts include
•Do not build a factory around a residential area
•Avoid over crowding etc.
Health implications of a poorly planned environment
Poorly planned environments are vices for various diseases.
The over populated areas encourage the spread of air borne diseases like tuberculosis, influenza, etc.
Living in environments with factories can contaminate the water.
Water borne diseases can also easily be spread.
Overcrowding also encourages airborne diseases.
The relationship between town planning and our health can never be over emphasized. Be conscious about your health at all times.
Laws Governing Town Planning
There are laws governing town planning and punishment meted out to defaulters who break these rules.
If there is anyone around you whose land use is detrimental to your health, you could discuss it with them and look for ways it can be corrected but if they insist on not doing anything about it, you could report them to the town planning officer around you.
And when you want to build a house or any structure around you, consult the town planners. They are professionals and are willing to help.
Take responsibility for your health and stay healthy.
Health is Wealth!
Thank you for reading.