If we build it, will they use it? A collaborative approach to promoting greenway use in an urban community to reduce disparities in cardiovascular health

Lean and Green in Motown (LGM) is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project of the Healthy Environments Partnership (HEP) comprised of representatives from community-based organizations, health service agencies, and academia. LGM is designed to support and track the effects of changes in the built environment on physical activity and dietary practices, both of which are contributors to cardiovascular health. HEP-LGM works with Detroit community development corporations (CDCs), responsible for the design and construction of greenways, to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at encouraging residents' use of the greenways and promoting healthy lifestyles and environments associated with reductions in racial disparities in obesity and cardiovascular health. In this presentation we will describe LGM's collaboration with the CDCs, other local groups, and urban planners to promote the use of new greenways being developed in three Detroit neighborhoods. Following a brief description of the greenway development in Southeast Michigan, we will describe the process used by the HEP partners to ensure community input and involvement in the development of the greenway plans. We will discuss suggested design features and activities identified to encourage residents to use the greenways. We will also describe the CBPR process used by the partners to disseminate the plans to neighborhood community groups and key decision makers citywide to ensure community ownership of the plans. Finally, we will discuss challenges, facilitating factors and implications of this process for efforts to promote public health within an urban setting through built environment change.