263398 Brooklyn Active Transportation Community Planning Initiative: Engaging residents in low-income urban neighborhoods to improve the built environment and increase physical activity

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 1:15 PM - 1:30 PM

Kimberly Bylander, MPH , Brooklyn District Public Health Office, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Brooklyn, NY
Sarah Timmins-DeGregory, MPH , Brooklyn District Public Health Office, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Brooklyn, NY
Nupur Chaudhury, MPH, MUP , Brownsville Partnership, Community Solutions, Brooklyn, NY
Philip Noyes, MPH, MA , Brooklyn District Public Health Office, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Brooklyn, NY
K. Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH , Brooklyn District Public Health Office, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Brooklyn, NY
In low-income communities, obesity and physical inactivity rates remain disproportionately high. In North/Central Brooklyn, 68% of adults are overweight or obese and and 32% report no regular physical activity. Policy initiatives to improve the built environment and promote walking, biking, and other types of active transportation show promise in increasing activity levels. Effective active transportation programs traditionally include “5 E's”: Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Evaluation and Encouragement. Work in communities affected by health inequities encourages a sixth “E” – Engagement – involving stakeholders in examining and improving the built environment. In 2010, the Brooklyn Active Transportation Community Planning Initiative launched in two low-income communities to engage residents in exploring built environment changes to improve health and encourage active transportation. Stakeholder input is gathered through surveys, community forums, and bike and walkability assessments, and process measures are tracked. Future analysis will assess built-environment changes and their impact on activity levels. From December 2010 –2011, data was collected from 491 community members. Of 333 survey respondents, more than half (51%) reported sidewalks and streets as “unsafe” or “very unsafe” for walking and biking. Over 150 stakeholders participated in forums and street assessments, identifying specific street changes to improve active transportation. Data was shared with transportation planners to develop localized complete streets proposals. Engaging community members is essential to understanding and developing effective built environment strategies. The initiative will continue to foster collaboration among residents, organizations, and government agencies, including departments of health, transportation, and police, to increase active transportation in low-income neighborhoods.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe three methods for gathering community input on the built environment and physical activity. 2. List three factors that community members perceive as barriers to walking and biking. 3. Discuss how engagement strategies can increase local policy implementation to improve health outcomes and equity.

Keywords: Physical Activity, Community Participation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have promoted community programs to increase physical activity in low-income New York City communities for the past several years and worked closely with community partners to increase local support for built environment and active living initiatives.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.