By Joyce LEE, FAIA, LEED Fellow, Indigo JLD, (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Health is a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” according to the World Health Organization.
Healthy cities – what comes to your mind? Fresh air, citizens walking, bicycling or jogging, smiling faces, just to name a few. Healthy communities are a convergence of many factors, including: Housing, transportation, food access, socioeconomics, education, work environment, built environment, natural environment, public safety, Prenatal and Child development, and Community and social capital. This article delineates a selection of examples around the country that could serve as inspiration for other communities.
Healthy Corridors and Land Use
As health is a core component of thriving communities, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Building Healthy Places Initiative is building on work that links human health and development. Auto-dependent roadways have long been an area of health concern. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, ULI is investigating best practices to reinvent under-performing suburban and urban arterials in health-promoting ways. The first examples are: Los Angeles, Denver, Nashville, and Boise, Idaho. Rachel MacCleery, Senior Vice President from ULI, said, “Too many commercial corridors are dangerous, dismal, and dirty. This project is working to re-envision them as healthier places, with active transportation options, better land use patterns, better food access, and other health-promoting characteristics.”
Philadelphia Food Trust
The Food Trust, based in Center City of Philadelphia, ranked #2 “high-impact” nonprofit in America in children’s health and nutrition. In its two decades’ history, the Food Trust has worked with neighborhoods, schools, grocers, farmers and policymakers in Philadelphia and across the country to change how Americans think about healthy food and increase its availability. With partners, the Trust brought supermarkets to communities in food desserts, helped corner store introduce fresh produce, low-fat dairy and whole grains, introduced healthier food options in schools. A recent study by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health found that – for the first time in decades – the obesity rates among Philadelphia school children decreased by 5 percent between 2006 and 2010. The healthcare cost savings can be significant when the years of care are reduced dramatically.
Intersectoral Collaboration – Stair Week
Stair Week is a program that brings together the health officers and the built environment sectors to focus on physical activity and good design. As Americans spend more than 90% of waking hours indoors, good stair design motivates students, employees, retirees alike. And while it seems like a small change, taking the stairs routinely can have a big impact on health. “We know ‘place matters’. Design and health is a strong emerging issue at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and their sustainability priorities. It’s a great topic for local advocacy where architects can make a big difference in health outcomes,” said Mary Ann Lazarus from St. Louis, AIA Resident Fellow.
Join Joyce Lee for two in-person events: “Healthy Cities + Policy Implications” on May 12 and “Green Design + Human Health + Social Equity” on May 13. Visit www.usgbc-mogateway.org to learn more and register!