FYI -
From: Nelson, Danielle (FTA)
Subject: CDC Releases New Built Environment Assessment Tool
Hello ACL Colleagues,
Chris Kochtitzky shared this newly release tool - I wanted to make sure to help spread the word to networks who may find the tool useful.
Best,
Danielle
202-366-2160
Chris Kochtitzky, MSP
Associate Director for Program Development
CDC's Div. of Emergency & Environ. Health Services
E-mail: csk3(a)cdc.gov<mailto:csk3@cdc.gov>
Web: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/
[cid:image003.png@01D0C85A.C6D257B0]CDC Releases New Built Environment Assessment Tool
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dch/built-environment-assessment/
A wide array of tools exists for measuring different features of the built environment, many of them well validated. These existing tools fall into three categories: 1) interview or self-administered questionnaires which primarily measure perceptions, 2) tools that collect archival (existing) data, often using GIS, and 3) systematic observation or audit tools. It is often difficult for local program staff and evaluators to know which features of the built environment are most important to measure on the basis of the health behaviors and outcomes they are trying to affect. It is also difficult to know which tool(s) to choose to most accurately and feasibly assess those features.
The Built Environment Assessment Tool (BE Tool) (an adaptation of MAPS) was designed to alleviate some of the challenges posed by the significant number of narrowly focused tools aimed at only one activity (walking), one subpopulation (older adults), or one public health area (inactivity). It was created as a collaborative enterprise across multiple areas of public health - health promotion, injury prevention, environmental health, etc. It is a direct systematic observation data collection instrument for measuring the core features and quality of the built environment related to behaviors that affect health, especially behaviors such as walking, biking, and other types of physical activity. There are many aspects of the built environment. The built environment includes the buildings, roads, sidewalks, utilities, homes, transit, fixtures, parks and all other man-made entities that form the physical characteristics of a community. The built environment can impact human health by affecting rates of physical activity, air pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter that can exacerbate asthma and respiratory disease, and emissions of carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change.
The BE Tool was not designed to assess every aspect of the built environment. Rather the tool assesses a core set of features agreed upon by subject matter experts to be most relevant. The core features assessed in the BE Tool include: built environment infrastructure (e.g., road type, curb cuts/ramps, intersections/crosswalks, traffic control, transportation), walkability (e.g. sidewalk/path features, walking safety, aesthetics & amenities), bikeability (e.g., bicycle lane/path features), recreational sites and structures, and the food environment (e.g., access to grocery stores, convenience stores, farmers markets, etc.). Additional questions or modules could be added by users if more detail about an aspect of the built environment, such as the nutrition environment or pedestrian environment, is desired.
Greetings,
If anyone is in DC and interested in attending, there will be a launch event at WRI on July 23rd for Cities Safer by Design, a global tool for improving traffic safety in cities through urban and street design. Below is the invitation to this event, rsvps to saferbydesign(a)wri.org<mailto:saferbydesign@wri.org?subject=Event%20RSVP>:
Cities Safer by Design
Join us in Washington, DC at World Resources Institute for the launch of and panel discussion about Cities Safer by Design, a global reference guide to help cities save lives from traffic fatalities through improved street design and smart urban development.
This hands-on guide taps examples from cities worldwide and includes 34 different design elements to improve safety and quality of life. The research shows that traffic safety can be improved in cities two ways. First, by providing an urban environment that reduces the need for driving; and second, by making areas where vehicles and people mix as safe as possible by reducing speeds through design to safer levels and prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists.
The report describes on-the-ground examples from Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Istanbul, New York City and Paris. Key findings from the report cover urban design, traffic calming, key considerations for arterials and intersections, pedestrian facilities, bicycling networks and access to public transport.
This event will include a presentation on the new guide and feature a high level panel to discuss and explore how cities can implement and scale up safer design that results in better quality of life for all urban dwellers across the world.
Please RSVP by email at saferbydesign(a)wri.org<mailto:saferbydesign@wri.org?subject=RSVP>.
Presenter
Ben Welle, Senior Associate, Health & Road Safety, EMBARQ initiative, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, World Resources Institute
Panelists
* Ellis Juan, General Coordinator, Emerging and Sustainable Cities Program, Inter-American Development Bank
* Rob Puentes, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
* Marc Shotten, Senior Transport Specialist, The World Bank
* Claudia Adriazola-Steil, Director, Health & Road Safety, EMBARQ Initiative, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, World Resources Institute
The session will be moderated by Clayton Lane, Deputy Director, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, World Resources Institute
Agenda
When: Thursday, July 23
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-12:45 Opening remarks
12:50-1:10 Presentation of Cities Safer by Design
1:10-1:45 Panel introductions and discussion
1:45-2:05 Q&A
2:05-2:15 Closing remarks
Note: The program will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Where: World Resources Institute
10 G Street NE Suite 800
Washington, DC 20002, USA
Please RSVP via email at saferbydesign(a)wri.org<mailto:saferbydesign@wri.org?subject=Event%20RSVP>
- See more at: http://wricities.org/events/cities-safer-design%20?utm_campaign=July16Newsl…
Ben Welle
Senior Associate, EMBARQ
WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
World Resources Institute
WRIcities.org<wricities.org>
Direct: +1 202-729-7794
bwelle(a)wri.org | Twitter: @Benj_WDC<https://twitter.com/Benj_WDC> | Blog: TheCityFix.com<thecityfix.com>
WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities works to improve life for millions of people in urban areas worldwide.
WRI is a global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity and human well-being.
Brazil | China | Europe | Mexico | India | Indonesia | Turkey | United States
>From the CenterLines newsletter:
The famous Dutch obsession with bicycles is clearly paying off – a recent
study (Dutch Cycling: Quantifying the Health and Related Economic Benefits)
has found that, due to cycling, about 11,000 deaths are prevented each year
in the Netherlands and Dutch people have half a year longer life expectancy
than the average European. Most importantly, the study clearly shows that
Dutch investments in bicycle-promoting policies, such as improved bicycle
infrastructure and facilities, are likely to yield a high cost-benefit
ratio in the long term.
Read more at:
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302724