Eloisa,
Thanks. I just sent out this link to about 400 people.
Have a nice weekend,
Sheryl
Sheryl Gross-Glaser
Director, Partnership for Mobility Management
National Center for Mobility Management
Community Transportation Association of America
grossglaser(a)ctaa.org
202.386.1669
*** *** ***
*EXPO 2014: June 8-13 *
*L'Etoile du nord - Star of the NorthWe're heading to **St. Paul**, the
capital city of Minnesota *
On Thu, Feb 6, 2014 at 2:11 PM, Eloisa Raynault <eloisa.raynault(a)apha.org>wrote;wrote:
Greetings TRB Subcommittee friends,
This new toolkit from CDC may be of interest to you.
Cheers,
Eloisa
*******************************************
The Healthy Community Design Toolkit, a resource and website that provides
information and education materials for individuals, local and public
health officials, and planners to use in creating healthy communities, was
released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Visit the HCDT website at
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/toolkit/.
"Your address can play an important role in how long you live and how
healthy you are," said Arthur Wendel, M.D., M.P.H., head of CDC's Healthy
Community Design Initiative in the National Center for Environmental
Health. "The physical design of your neighborhood affects your health every
time you step out your front door. It's hard to be physically active when
you don't have access to sidewalks, parks, clean air, or safe areas, and
eating right is hard if healthy foods are not available."
Physical inactivity and obesity are leading risk factors for high blood
pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Obese individuals
spend 77 percent more money for necessary medications than non-obese
persons. Just as characteristics of the environment create unsafe
conditions or foster chronic diseases, certain aspects of the environment
may promote health and well-being. For example, "designing walking trails
and popup farmers markets throughout our communities can promote increased
physical activity and healthy eating," Wendel said.
Since 2003, CDC has developed tools and techniques that educate people
about how changing the physical design of their neighborhood can lead to
healthier communities. The free online toolkit provides a variety of
resources that are easy to read, understand, and use. They include:
A checklist of questions for individuals, to help them consider and
understand healthy community design elements, such as the building of homes
and businesses near each other to encourage walking and biking to work and
school, and shorter car trips.
A customizable PowerPoint presentation on healthy community design that
explains to individuals how the physical makeup of their neighborhood
affects their health. The presentation also explains how people can use the
checklist during land use discussions with local officials, planners, real
estate agents, and health professionals. Subjects include healthier and
more affordable food choices, to open spaces and parks that encourage
people to get outside and be more active.
A guide to CDC's Environmental Public Health Tracking Network and other
online resources to find health data on a community. The data will help
identify the most urgent health issues in a community, such as rates of
asthma, heart disease, cancer, alcohol consumption and access to healthcare.
A resource guide listing other audit tools, websites, checklists and
pamphlets that can help residents, planners, public health and local
officials create vibrant healthy neighborhoods.
"The scientific evidence is clear--physical characteristics of a community
can affect an individual's physical and mental health," said Robin Ikeda,
M.D.,M.P.H., deputy director of CDC's Office of Noncommunicable Diseases,
Injury and Environmental Health. "The Healthy Community Design Checklist
Toolkit is the result of research that has progressed into a series of
action steps. It gives individuals the power to make sure that physical
changes in their community will enhance their health and the livability of
their neighborhoods."
CDC developed the toolkit in partnership with the American Planning
Association's (APA) Planning and Community Health Research Center to ensure
that the kit would be a resource for everyone who wants to learn how
planning can support better health.
Planning and public health have historically worked together to improve
sanitation, water, and food systems. The toolkit is another way to connect
these community needs. The toolkit, along with case studies of communities
using the checklist and its principals, will be presented in April 2014 at
the American Planning Association's National Conference in Atlanta.
The toolkit advances the National Prevention Strategy's commitment to
healthy & safe community environments. The National Prevention Strategy,
called for by the Affordable Care Act, envisions a prevention-oriented
society where all sectors contribute to the health of individuals,
families, and communities.
To learn more about CDC's Healthy Community Design Toolkit, Environmental
Public Health Tracking Network or the agency's efforts to combat obesity
please visit:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/toolkit/
_______________________________________________
H+T--Friends mailing list
H+T--Friends(a)chrispy.net
https://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends