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By
Andy Schwartz
The
lifestyles of Americans are
becoming less active and more isolated
by the day.
Incidences
of obesity are surging nationwide,
most alarmingly among children,
30% of whom are overweight. Heart
disease, diabetes, depression and
obesity are linked to inactivity,
isolation, and the disconnectedness
of our neighborhoods and lifestyles.
These
issues dramatically affect older
populations, among whom over 60%
are inactive, and who suffer overwhelmingly
from depression and mental illness.
Most researchers agree that even
a moderate amount of regular physical
activity and social interaction
could have a dramatic effect on
these statistics.
| However,
there are many forces acting
to prevent this. Studies show
that increased television viewing,
video games and the Internet
have eaten into what was formerly
social and active time for children
and adults, and could therefore
be tied to depression and other
diseases related to inactivity
and isolation. A lack of sidewalks
and safe |
Bikers and
rollerbladers on the Battery
Park City Promenade
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places
to cross streets forces us to stay
at home, or drive instead of using
active modes of transportation like
walking and bicycling.
Sprawling
developments and the lack of accessible
public spaces and parks leave people
with no places to go to. Blank walls
and bleak landscapes are best viewed
from a speeding car rather than
on foot. And vehicle-dominated environments
not only seriously affect air quality
(they could be directly related
to increased cases of asthma and
other respiratory diseases), but
also contribute significantly to
pedestrian and bicycle-related deaths
and injuries.
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How
do we make our neighborhoods
safer and our lifestyles more
active and engaged? Studies
abound on the "public health/community
design connection," as
it is becoming known. Until
this point, the main focus of
such research has been establishing
the connection. Proactive solutions
have been limited to suggestions
such as constructing sidewalks,
transit |
| Blank
walls and bleak landscapes are
best viewed from a speeding
car rather than on foot. |
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facilities, recreation facilities
and greenways closer to people's homes,
so that exercise can easily be incorporated
into daily routines, and to facilitate
children safely walking to school.
Two
key factors are critical to making
any of these efforts successful.
1.
Changes to the design of our communities
should focus on creating social, public
places that are destinations, with
a multitude of ways to get to them.
2.
Communities need to be involved
from the outset in new planning
and design, making changes and generating
a vision.
1.
Places to Go: Healthy Places, Healthy
People
A focus on creating places will
provide the rationale for every
proscription that has come in the
name of fostering health and livability.
Making our towns and neighborhood
centers easier to get to for walkers
and bikers may promote physical
and social activity - but it will
not be a fruitful activity if we
do not also create great places
for them to go to.
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community places are available
to everyone. They are the parks
where we run, play and relax,
where marathons end, where the
seasons are marked and where
cultures mix. They are the streets
and sidewalks in front of homes
and businesses where neighbors
meet and people come to shop,
jog and stroll. They are the
"front porches" of
our public institutions: city
halls, libraries, schools, and
post offices where a local farmers
market may sell fresh produce.
They must be places people |
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| When
people interact and know each
other - and have stronger social
bonds - our communities are
safer and healthier. |
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can walk to, or easily reach by transit.
When cities and neighborhoods have
thriving public spaces, residents
have a strong sense of community.
When people interact and know each
other, and have stronger social bonds,
our communities are safer and healthier.
In short, public spaces are critical
to creating livable cities and healthy
communities. Unfortunately, good public
spaces are all too rare in cities
today.
2.
Community-based Planning and Health
One reason why our cities and towns
routinely fail at creating active
social environments is that the
community is not involved in establishing
a vision for the place from the
outset. This is known as a project-based
approach, whereby officials deem
what is wrong with a street, park
or other public space, and make
the necessary "improvements"
without truly consulting the community
in what they might want or like
to do there. Not only do the planners
and designers miss a great opportunity
to gather local knowledge and ideas
for creating a great place, but
they also do not get the natural
stewardship, in-kind donations and
partnerships that likely would result
from involving a broad cross-section
of residents and other local leaders
in the project.
What
Makes A Healthy Place?
PPS's Place
Diagram provides a good context
for looking at these issues constructively.
 Access
and Linkages
According
to the Department of Transportation,
25 percent of all trips are less
than a mile, but 75 percent of those
trips are made by car. Why? Because
our neighborhoods are not built
with the infrastructure to allow
us to go any other way. Contributing
to this problem are streets too
wide to cross comfortably, traffic
that moves too quickly, and an absence
or lack of sidewalks, crosswalks,
and bike lanes. Access means a truly
public space is available and easy
to reach for people of all incomes
and backgrounds - and they don't
have to pay to use it. It is critical
for public spaces, our most democratic
institutions.
 Uses
and Activities
A beautifully
designed space is not worth anything
if people don't use it - that's
why we often say that a good public
space is 80% management and 20%
design. We need good programs, parks
for recreation, and play areas that
are connected to the communities
around them - and are community
places themselves. We need partnerships
between local organizations, merchants
associations, and government agencies
so that these issues are being approached
from every angle and with every
available resource. New ideas and
plans need to come from the ground
up, not from the top down. True
community process lets all the stakeholders,
including residents, city agencies,
local leaders and merchants, define
the places and events that are important
to them. Planning in this way promotes
sustainability and use, and therefore
activity.
 Comfort
and image
Our communities
need to be designed in ways that
make them easy and appealing to
use - places that draw people to
them, like a street that closes
off temporarily for a festival,
or a café that puts out sidewalk
seating. A great park entrance should
have amenities like benches under
shady trees, waste receptacles,
street lights and perhaps a bus
stop. Comfort and image also involves
feeling good about participating.
In many neighborhoods where automobiles
dominate, there is a stigma to simply
walking down the street. We need
to remove this stigma by creating
places that attract people.
 Sociability
In every
great public space, sociability
is the critical identifier. It is
measured by public displays of affection,
diversity, volunteerism, even people
taking pictures and pointing with
pride to neighborhood monuments
and special features. Like physical
activity, sociability also plays
a crucial role in alleviating depression.
This disease, like obesity and diabetes,
among others, is linked strongly
to isolation and disconnectedness.
We need places to draw people out
of the house and into community
life.
Links:
Neal
Pierce, Obesity and Sprawl, the
Connection Tightens April 21, 2001
Creating
A Healthy Environment: The Impact
of the Built Environment on Public
Health
Planning
Healthier Suburbs, Where Cars Sit
Idle and People Get Moving
New York Times; New York, N.Y.;
Oct 17, 2000; Jane E. Brody
How
Land Use and Transportation Systems
Impact Public Health:
A Literature Review of the Relationship
Between Physical Activity and Built
Form
Lawrence D. Frank. PhD and Mr. Peter
Engelke
Sprawl
Harms Our Health
The Sierra Club
Kids
Walk to School
HEY
KID, TRY WALKING!
COMMUNITIES
WIN WHEN SCHOOLS ARE CLOSE TO HOME
U.S.
Obesity Trends 1985 to 2000
Diabetes
Trends Among Adults in the U.S
The
Center for Weight and Health at
UC Berkeley
Supersized
Kids, Diminishing Health
In a Bit More Than a Decade, the
Number of Overweight Children Has
Doubled in Many Racial Groups
Neil
Pierce on health
Supersized
Kids, Diminishing Health In a Bit
More Than a Decade, the Number of
Overweight Children Has Doubled
in Many Racial Groups
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