HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN URBAN SPACES

Abstract

Built spaces affect the relation health-illness, through the somatization of external stimuli that humans failed to control. Therefore, the objective of this research is the analysis of the perception of the individuals who participated in the design of public spaces, in contrast to those who did not intervene. A questionnaire was applied to 226 neighbors, 18 years old and over, living in the neighborhood Extension Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, who designed their environment in a first intervention phase (1998-2002). A first evaluation conducted a year later (2003), assessed their social and physical environment perception. A second evaluation was conducted in 2010. Results compared means using T-test, and Cronbach alpha, showed significant differences in terms of health conditions, between those who were integrated into the participatory design process for their immediate surroundings with those who did not. The neighbors who participated in the design process presented gastrointestinal symptoms and diabetes, but had better social and environmental relations and perceived a better sense of fulfillment.