FYI…Apologies if you’ve already seen this, but just in case you haven’t, here is an exciting new Report from my colleagues at Project for Public Spaces. Please
pass on to others, as appropriate.
Chris Kochtitzky, MSP
Senior Advisor
E-mail:
csk3@cdc.gov
Check out the
Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking & Walkability:
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/stepitup
PPS Releases New Report, “The Case for Healthy Places: Improving
Health through Placemaking”
By
Project for Public Spaces
on Dec 8, 2016
A growing body of research over the last several decades has shown the connections between “place” and health, and it is well documented that a person’s zip code can be a more reliable
determinant of health
than their genetic code.
Today, PPS is proud to release
The Case for Healthy Places—a
report of peer-reviewed research that offers evidence-based guidance, recommendations, and numerous case studies to which health institutions, community organizations, and
other partners
can refer in order to create and support healthy placemaking initiatives. Produced with generous support from
Kaiser Permanente
and Anne T. and Robert Bass, this important study focuses on five key areas:
Social Support & Interaction;
Play & Active Recreation;
Green & Natural Environments;
Healthy
Food; and
Walking & Biking.
The final chapter addresses
health care institutions
specifically, detailing ways in which they can take action to become placemaking champions in the communities they serve.
“It has been a delight to witness the decades-long contribution of Project for Public Spaces to measurably improving the health and vitality of communities across
the United States and around the world. And it has been a distinct pleasure to work with and sponsor the team behind this report, as they bridge a ‘field of fields,’ ranging from equitable community development, to housing design and land use planning, to
health and well being.” –Tyler Norris, Vice President,
Kaiser Permanente
From obesity and chronic disease to depression, social isolation, or increased exposure to environmental toxins and pollutants, communities around the world face pressing health challenges
that are much different than those we’ve experienced in the past. “To address the real health challenges of the 21st century,” explains PPS President and Founder
Fred Kent, “we need innovative solutions that look not only at the physical causes and symptoms of poor health, but also the social, economic, and environmental components of total well-being.”
Many studies have explored how differences in the design and function of low and high-income neighborhoods contribute to health disparities.
Research shows
that low-income groups and racial and ethnic minorities have more limited access to
well-maintained parks or safe recreational facilities,
and that low-income urban neighborhoods are more likely to lack features that
support walking,
such as clean and well-maintained sidewalks, trees, and attractive scenery. These areas are also significantly more likely to
lack access to supermarkets
and places to obtain healthy, fresh
food. With these inequities in mind, this timely report shows how placemaking projects can address all kinds of health disparities, while also generating a host of other
positive community outcomes such as increased social
capital, opportunities for
civic engagement,
local economic
development, and
improved safety
and crime reduction.
This
report
uses placemaking
as a holistic framework for creating healthy communities. As both an overarching idea and a hands-on approach for improving a neighborhood, city, or region, placemaking is a collaborative
process for reshaping the public realm—a community’s streets,
parks and
other public spaces—in order to maximize shared value. The exciting projects and case studies highlighted in the study run the gamut from
farmers markets,
community gardens,
and public plazas,
to efforts to make streets
more amenable to pedestrians and bicyclists.
As Tyler Norris explains in the document’s forward, “Placemaking is one of the most powerful things we can do to address physical and mental health as well as revitalize democracy and
add more conviviality to our lives. It supplies us with a sense of belonging, which creates resilience and well-being, according to scientific evidence.”
The full report is available
here!
But this is just the beginning of the
Healthy Placemaking movement!
Please stay tuned over the next 12 months as PPS will continue to highlight the findings and recommendations embedded in this extensive study through a series of topical webinars, conferences, and strategic engagements with placemaking partners and allies.