|
ADDRESSING ISSUES
HEALTH AND COMMUNITY DESIGN
Most
researchers agree that moderate physical activity
could dramatically improve America's public health.
This is easier said than done, however, because our
cities and neighborhoods come with a number of built-in
disincentives to getting out and about. At PPS, we
believe that great public spaces - destinations that
encourage physical activity and draw people together
socially - can play a significant role in turning
around the decline in public health.
As
the average American's lifestyle grows less active and
more isolated, the results of a public-health check-up
are not encouraging. The biggest indicator of an overall
slowdown in physical activity is the obesity rate. It
is surging nationwide, most alarmingly among children,
30% of whom are overweight. Obesity, along with heart
disease and diabetes, is exacerbated by a sedentary
lifestyle. All of these diseases dramatically affect
older people, among whom over 60% are inactive; this
age group also suffers overwhelmingly from depression
and mental illness, which can be heightened or prolonged
by social isolation.
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 a number of disincentives to Americans
getting out and about more often - and recent studies
from both the planning and public-health professions
locate many of them in the places where we live and
work. The way these places look (boring) and the ways
in which they function (they don't) do not create
the need, the desire, or the opportunity for people
to walk - let alone get more active types of exercise.
Instead, Americans now devote a majority
of their time to relatively isolated, private activities.
For instance, studies show that larger numbers of
hours spent watching television, playing video games
and surfing the Internet have eaten into what was
formerly social and active time for both children
and adults, and these activities could therefore be
tied to depression and other diseases related to inactivity
and isolation.
 |
Blank
walls and bleak landscapes are best viewed from
a speeding car rather than on foot. |
What happens when people do venture
outside? A lack of sidewalks and safe places to cross
streets discourages walking or bicycling; where sidewalks
exist, the surrounding environment is usually so uninteresting
that no one wants to use them anyway. Blank walls
and bleak landscapes are best viewed from a speeding
car rather than on foot. Equally dull parks lie fallow
much of the time. In short, in most of our communities
"there's no 'there' there," as Gertrude
Stein said.
No wonder people drive instead, especially
in the typical suburb, where sprawling developments
and the lack of accessible public spaces and parks
require adults to do errands via car and chauffeur
children to activities. And so we've ended up with
vehicle-dominated metropolitan areas and a crisis
in traffic congestion. These conditions not only strain
one's patience, but also create very real health threats:
poor air quality (which can be related to increased
cases of asthma and other respiratory diseases); and
higher rates of pedestrian and bicycle-related deaths
and injuries.
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 recently,
the focus of such research has been on establishing
the connection. Proactive solutions coming out of
this research are limited to suggestions such as constructing
sidewalks, transit facilities, recreation facilities
and greenways closer to people's homes; in this way,
people can more easily incorporate exercise into their
daily routines, and children can safely walk or bike
to school.
At PPS, we believe that these solutions,
to be successful, need to go farther and incorporate
two critical factors. For one thing, the design of
communities should focus on creating social, public
places - destinations that are accessible in a multitude
of ways. In addition, communities should be involved
from the outset in planning and design, making changes,
and generating a vision for a place.
Creating places can provide the rationale
for a range of solutions to foster health and livability.
Making towns and neighborhood centers more navigable
for walkers and bikers may promote physical and social
activity - but it will not be a fruitful activity
unless this accessibility is linked to great places.
Who wants to use streets, sidewalks and bike trails
that don't go anywhere?
|
Psychologically,
thriving public spaces . . . promote the kinds
of familiarity and social bonds that make neighborhoods
safer and healthier.
|
|
"Healthy" places are valued
by and accessible to everyone in a community: parks
for recreation, play, and relaxation; streets and
sidewalks where neighbors meet and people can shop,
jog and stroll; farmers markets with fresh produce
and other goods. They are also the "front porches"
of public institutions: city halls, libraries, schools,
and post offices. These places must be situated so
that people can conveniently reach them on foot or
by transit. Psychologically, thriving public spaces
give residents a strong sense of community, and promote
the kinds of familiarity and social bonds that make
neighborhoods safer and healthier. They are critical
to livable cities and healthy communities - and unfortunately,
they are all too rare.
One reason that 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. Instead, officials,
designers and planners use a project-based approach,
whereby they 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 to see or do there. On the other hand,
a community-based approach involves a broad cross-section
of residents and other local leaders in defining the
project from the start. This not only provides a prime
opportunity to gather local knowledge and ideas for
creating a successful place, but it also fosters the
natural stewardship, in-kind donations and partnerships
that contribute to that success.
What Makes A Healthy Place?
 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. That 75 percent could be reduced if the design
of neighborhoods facilitated other forms of transportation.
Instead, communities are built on 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: one
that is available and easy to reach for people of
all incomes and backgrounds - who do not have to pay
to use it. It is a critical factor, since public spaces
are one of our most democratic institutions.
 Uses
and Activities
A beautifully designed space is
not worth anything if people don't use it. A community-based
planning process lets all the stakeholders - including
residents, city agencies, local leaders and merchants
- define what goes on in a place. When ideas come
from the ground up, not the top down, the events,
programs, recreation, and play areas in a public space
are truly connected to the communities that use them.
In addition, partnerships among local organizations,
merchants associations, and government agencies act
as new sources of ideas for activities and help a
public space become a true "community place."
Planning for uses and activities in this way promotes
sustainability and use, and therefore activity.
 Comfort
and image
Places that are designed to be
appealing, enjoyable, and convenient provide an incentive
to getting people out and about - they become attractions,
like a shady shopping street with benches and good
sidewalks, or a park that supports a range of active
and passive uses. Shade trees, comfortable places
to sit, water fountains, waste receptacles, good views,
adequate (but not overbearing) lighting: All of these
amenities make people feel good about being in a public
space. Unfortunately, in unattractive neighborhoods
where vehicles dominate, there is a stigma to simply
walking down the street. Creating places that attract
people will remove this stigma.
 Sociability
Like physical activity, research
has shown that sociability can play a role in alleviating
depression, which is strongly linked to isolation
and disconnectedness. It can draw people out of the
house and into community life - and it is the critical
identifier of every great public space. Sociability
is measured by public displays of affection, diversity,
volunteerism, even people taking pictures and pointing
out neighborhood monuments and special features.
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
Enrique
Penalosa: Why Parks are Important to Cities
Perils
of suburban living gain attention
The Bergen Record
|
