Are We There Yet? The Push For Complete Communities
December 25, 2012
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Visit the Are We There Yet? home The previous chapters on living, working and moving do not, of course, sum up all the things Americans need in order to thrive. We also need exercise and clean air, safe neighborhoods, good schools and quality childcare, healthy and affordable food, parks, shops, arts and culture — and a “built environment” in which all of this is available to people regardless of age or income or whether they can drive. but if indeed the “quality of human capital” is a key indicator of whether regions and the U.S. as a whole will be able to compete in the global economy — as discussed in the economist Intelligence Unit report at the beginning of the Working chapter — then we also need to invest in human development, an essential element of thriving. This point was persuasively made by the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), a national community development finance institution that serves as…
How Far We Are Away From 'There' In Health Issues
November 7, 2012
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In Are We There Yet?, Reconnecting America explains that one measure of Complete Communities is healthy outcomes that see reduced incidences of diabetes, less obesity and a more active populace.
New Additions To Resource Center Best Practices
October 29, 2012
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A trio of reports have been added to the Resource Center best practices database.
Health Care Savings From Walking, Biking & Riding Transit
July 19, 2012
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A 2007 study that estimates the impact that a healthy lifestyle that includes light rail transit ridership will have on health care costs has been added to the Resource Center's best practices database.
The Colorado Mile Markers: A Report for Kaiser Permanente, Colorado
June 27, 2012
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A May, 2012, report on promoting active transportion -- walking, biking -- commissioned by Kaiser Permanente Colorado has been added to the Resource Center best practices database.
Pollution Benefits of Urban Rail
June 28, 2011
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Researchers at the University of California campus at Merced have found that introduction of an urban rail transit system can reduce the level of carbon monoxide pollution and nitrogen oxides in the air.
Transit And Walkable Communities -- A Healthy Combination
September 2, 2010
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Improving public transportation and making communities more walkable can have significant impacts on public health, according to a study written for the American Public Transportation Association by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute.
F Is for Fat 2010: New Report Discusses the Link Between Transportation Policies and the Obesity Epidemic
July 7, 2010
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The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation just released their annual report on obesity, F is for Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010. The report contains the latest data on adult and child obesity rates in America, as well as policy recommendations for local, regional, state, and federal officials to help combat the obesity epidemic. In the past year, more than 28 states saw their adult obesity rate increase, with Colorado remaining the leanest state at 19.1%, which is still higher than the national average in 1980.
While the majority of recommendations focus on nutrition and physical activity, the report devotes significant attention to the link between the built environment and health, and calls for programs and policies that increase walking, bicycling, and the use of public transportation. Under "Increasing Access to, Availability and Affordability of Physical Activity," (p. 83), it lists "Support mixed-use development…
Fostering public health
January 13, 2010
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[This is the fourth in a series of blog posts by David Dixon FAIA, principal-in-charge Planning and Urban Design at Goody Clancy. Dixon's posts are part of a series of expert blogs on TOD highlighting work and research that experts are doing in the field.]
