Link Between Good Health and Good Planning

A compelling article published in The Bulletin out of Bend, Oregon links better health (less obesity) to good planning (less sprawl, less driving and greater density for more walking and biking). According to author Markian Hawryluk, “there’s a growing body of evidence, including both rigorous studies and anecdotal support, that the way cities have grown over the past 50 to 60 years is contributing to unhealthy lifestyles. It’s a pattern of growth known as urban sprawl, in which people live on large tracts of land, located far from workplaces, recreation and schools, requiring them to drive pretty much everywhere they need to go.”

This raises critical questions, not only about the linkages between where we live and how we act, but also about what we, in the world of community planning, can do to positively effect the very substance of our daily lives. Learn more about CommunityViz^®, the GIS software the Orton Family Foundation developed to tackle some of these very questions. Then check out the opening paragraphs of Hawryluk’s article:

ACTIVE Design: What if you lived in a community where a trip to the gym and a few laps at the pool were only a short walk away?

Despite news last week that the rise in childhood obesity may have plateaued, a significant portion of America remains overweight. According to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two out of three U.S. adults and one in five U.S. children are overweight or obese.

Over the past decade, as researchers have tried to drill down into the causes of the obesity epidemic, they have become increasingly aware of a link between the design of a community and the health of its residents. Studies have shown that the way streets are laid out, the ease of biking and walking, and the distances between housing and businesses can all affect whether a person might spend more of the day on foot or bike or sitting in a car. And that could mean the difference between putting on extra pounds—and all the health consequences that go along with it—or maintaining a healthy weight.

“There are two different approaches to community design, one of which promotes physical activity and one of which does not,” said Dr. Howard Frumpkin, the director of the National Center for Environmental Health. “That’s really important. We know that we are becoming a more sedentary and more overweight society, and routine physical activity can help with that.”

Read full article.