Glossary

Physical environment can be thought of as including the natural environment, which refers to plants, the atmosphere, weather, and topography, and the built environment, which refers to buildings, spaces, transportation systems, and products that are created, or modified, by people. Physical environments can consist of particular individual or institutional settings (e.g., homes, worksites, schools, health care settings, recreational settings) as well as surrounding neighborhoods and related community areas where individuals live, work, travel, play, and conduct their other daily activities. The physical environment can harm individual and community health, especially when individuals and communities are exposed to toxic substances, irritants, infectious agents, stress-producing factors (e.g., noise), and physical hazards in homes, schools, worksites, and other settings and as part of transportation systems. Physical barriers within these environments can present tangible safety hazards or impediments to persons with disabling conditions. The physical environment also can promote good health and wellbeing, for example, through exposure to nature or favorable aesthetic attributes of neighborhoods, or by providing community settings and environments that facilitate healthful behavioral choices in such areas as diet, physical activity, alcohol use, and tobacco use.