Local Policy Innovation to State Laws and Regulations: Increasing Physical Activity by Changing the Built Environment

Increasing physical activity by changing the built environment is one approach local and state governments have implemented with the goal of decreasing population obesity prevalence. Smart Growth (including mixed-use land development), and Complete Streets, (safe streets that accommodate all modes of transportation) have become two guiding principles for obesity prevention advocates as well as city planners to change the built environment. These two principles have been implemented in many municipalities with the objective of increasing physical activity. Political science research indicates that policy innovation can diffuse from bottom-up (local to state) or top-down (state/Federal to local). This presentation will be a qualitative analysis of municipalities' ordinances and state-level laws and regulations, addressing Smart Growth principles and Complete Streets initiatives. This study will also investigate the direction of policy innovation specifically addressing Smart Growth and Complete Streets. Community advocacy groups and local government infrastructure will also be assessed to determine any impact on the creation of laws addressing the built environment. The conclusions of this study will be useful to obesity policy advocates, state and local public officials and public health policy researchers.