Making places safer through land use planning and community based anti-violence programs

In too many American neighborhoods it is hazardous and dangerous to be physically active. Residential streets are built for cars and trucks to travel at high speeds, sidewalks are few and far between, and crosswalks and bike lanes are either non-existent or are ignored. Parks, where they exist, are too often ill maintained, poorly supervised and places where illegal activities proliferate. In such environments adults and children are likely to decide to stay at home or go about their daily business in their cars, rather than put themselves at risk.

Fortunately many in the public health field have recognized the impact that such environments have on chronic disease rates and a movement has begun in the intersection between the public health, land use planning, redevelopment, and urban design places to change public policies to create environmental standards and practices to ensure that American neighborhoods are built in ways that make it safer for residents of those places to engage in physical activity. In this presentation I will highlight the ways in which land use planning, safe design techniques, and community based anti-violence partnerships can be used to create safer neighborhoods in which residents are more likely to be physically active and chronic disease rates are more likely to decline.