ABSTRACT
In 2001, Surgeon General David Satcher issued a Call to Action to Prevent and
Decrease Overweight and Obesity. The report lamented the increasing numbers of
overweight and obese people in the U.S. One of the principles presented stressed
that there must be “environmental changes that help prevent overweight and obesity”
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005) as part of the country’s
public health goals. Unfortunately, the Call to Action largely went unheard. This
chapter builds the case that in moving urban development patterns away from
low-denisty sprawl to more compact and integrated patterns, urban containment
contributes favorably to public health.
