On a early May morning in San Francisco, Calif. (15.1% Latino), people gathered on a dangerous street to stand arm to arm as a buffer between moving cars and the bike lane. The current bike lane is located between street parking and moving traffic. This is known as a door zone lane because people continuously fling open their car doors in this space and drive into and out of this space to park their cars. As we all know, paint does little to stop a person from driving their vehicle over or parking in the "protected" space. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) saw the bike lanes fill up with auto traffic and double parking and proposed protected bike lanes for an upcoming project on the neighboring one-way street, according to Streets Blog San Francisco. ...
Swimming may be the perfect physical activity to help Latino kids achieve good health. But city governments often make the "painful choice to shut their pools to save the budget," according to a New York Times story a few years ago. Pool closures can especially hurt low-income and Latino and racial/ethnic communities where the local pool may be the only luxury. What can community residents do to save pools? We at Salud America! are happy to spotlight two communities who stepped up in unique ways when their local pools faced being cemented in!
Hannah Lieder: Saving a Public Pool in the Heart of Minneapolis Phillips Pool had been open for 22 years in the heart of urban Minneapolis, Minn., when it shut down for renovations in 2009. Renovation plans turned into ...
Although walking has numerous mental and physical benefits-and is fun-many people avoid walking if the streets aren't safe, which limits their mobility and access to basic necessities like schools, work, grocery stores, parks, healthcare, and other cultural and historical community resources. When it comes to safe streets, the U.S. lags far behind other countries. Given the inequity in access to safe streets and the disparities in fatalities and injuries among minorities, the issue of safe streets extends far beyond transportation planning and requires collaboration with public health and social justice researchers and practitioners. “We won’t save the number of lives we aim to without shifting our understanding of traffic violence from an individual behavior problem to a ...
Food and physical activity are both continuous and cumulative habits. Small changes every day can drastically improve your health and quality of life. However, the built world, whether intentional or not, influences the human experience. Many people live and work in places that impede or reduce physical activity and sell or promote unhealthy food. The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) brings together four of the nation’s leading research funders—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—to accelerate progress in reducing childhood obesity in America. Their new white paper builds on a series of behavioral ...
Are you interested in changing people's health outcomes through programs, policy changes, and infrastructure improvements? Check out the inaugural Active Living Summit hosted by Movement Makers in Richmond, VA, May 17-19, 2017. We will be there to learn and present! Hear stories about policies changed, advocacy wins, innovative school initiatives, and more. Discover how to build play in urban environments on a playability walk. Learn more about setting expectations with the funding community and creating better tools online to support physical activity in your city. Key note speakers include: Gabe Klein, Co-founder of CityFi and former Commissioner of Chicago and Washington D.C. Departments of Transportation.
Dominique Dawes, Olympic Gold Medalist, and former Co-chair ...
Kids need places to play to be healthy. Physical activity is proven to help control weight, reduce risk of disease, strengthen muscles, and improve mental health. But Latino families are more likely than white families to live in neighborhoods with no recreational facilities, or unsafe ones. This is according to recent research cited by Salud America!, a national Latino childhood obesity prevention network at UT Health San Antonio and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. That’s why we at SaludToday are spotlighting heroes who are creating play opportunities for Latino families!
Irma Rivera: First Park in the 92701 Irma Rivera saw a child nearly hit by a car while playing in an empty parking lot in park-poor Santa Ana, Calif (78% Latino). She vowed to do fix ...
Stroke is the most frequent cause of adult-onset disability in the US. Sadly, there are disparities in average age for stroke, meaning some populations are at an increased risk at a younger age and some populations live with the physical, emotional, and financial burdens at a younger age. For example, the average age for stroke in Latinos is 67 compared to 80 for non-Latino whites. Physical activity may be your best bet to not only prevent a stroke, but to reduce disability or impairment after a stroke. People who are less physically active are less likely to be able to do basic self-care functions like bathing, eating and getting in and out of bed after a stroke compared to those who were regularly physically active, according to a new report. The act of being active may be ...
When we are talking about academic performance, there is no right or wrong way to "workout." Any physical activity to get you moving and to get your blood pumping is beneficial and can boost your mood and help you reset and focus. Confederation Park Community School in Saskatoon Canada opens their gym all day and allows students to leave class at any time to burn off some energy. The goal is to empower kids to explore different kinds of physical activity when they feel like they can't concentrate in class. They can walk or run, do weights, play on gymnastics rings, flip big tires over, throw weighted balls, do yoga, dance, and many more activities. "Brain breaks" are one effective method to get kids moving in the classroom, but, as parents and teachers know, kids come to ...
The way our communities are designed and built can either support or hinder health. This includes sidewalks, bike lanes, public transportation, housing, schools, parks, employment centers, etc. Everyone deserves healthy communities with safe routes to where we live, learn, work, play, and pray, as well as safe routes to healthy food. The American Public Health Association (APHA) and partner organizations have pledged to work together on the Joint Call to Action to Promote Healthy Communities. Partners include American Institute of Architects, American Planning Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Landscape Architects, National Recreation and Park Association, U.S. Green Building Council, & Urban Land Institute. The signatory ...
