Bonita Springs, Fla. (31% Latino) and Las Cruces, N.M. (60% Latino) were among 12 cities recognized in "The Best Complete Streets Initiatives of 2017" report by the National Complete Streets Coalition of Smart Growth America. Complete Streets policies direct transportation planners and engineers to design streets with all users in mind. That includes people who walk, bike, take public transit, carpool or drive. This, in turn, helps address chronic disease, equitable economic growth, and reduced car dependence. The National Complete Streets Coalition sought exemplary examples of Complete Streets and advocates in 2017. Using their 100-point grading system, they selected the 12 Best Complete Streets initiatives. In many communities, roads and streets are barriers to access ...
Does your city, county or state have a Complete Streets policy to promote the safety of drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and all? Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago would love to know! You can nominate of public health agencies and advocates who help develop, adopt, and implement Complete Streets policies from 2013-2018 for a "Complete Streets and Public Health" recognition. Nominations are accepted from now to March 30, 2018.
Why Complete Streets?
Many Latino communities lack safe places to play and be active, according to a Salud America! research review. This can often lead to fewer opportunities to be physically active. Complete Streets policies can help. Complete Streets are equitable for all users—drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and commuters ...
Nearly 9 of 10 teachers wake up, get in cars, and drive solo to Arlington Public Schools every day in Arlington County, Va. (15.4% Latino). This clogs the streets and pollutes the air outside schools. So, with the student and staff populations set to rise in coming years, how could Arlington get its staff and parents to drive less, and instead use healthier transportation options like ride-sharing, walking, biking, and mass transit? They tried "transportation demand management," or TDM. TDM is the opposite of building bigger roads and parking lots. It focuses on helping people use alternatives to driving. "At its most basic level, TDM is a program of information, encouragement and incentives provided by local or regional organizations to help people know about and use all ...
The places we are born, grow, live, work, and age were not created equitably for all. Women of color tend to live in places with less access to opportunity—safe places to walk and play, healthy food, quality education, public transportation, employment opportunities, and preventive health care. This hinders educational attainment, income, and physical and mental health. Fortunately, women are increasingly standing up to the historical social, environmental, and political issues that spur poor health. To celebrate Women’s History Month, let's use #SaludTues on March 13, 2018, to tweet about awesome women who have and continue to build a culture of health for Latino and all families in the places they live. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: "Women in Health, the Environment, ...
Bus service is slow and sporadic in eastern Suffolk County, N.Y. A 15-minute drive can take two hours by bus. This makes it hard to get to a doctor for people in this 19% Latino county. Take it from Byrony Freij, a local Spanish-speaking pediatric counselor. She told Newsday that some households share one car, which is usually in use during the day. Undocumented residents avoid driving. Hours on a bus to visit a pediatrician is difficult for mothers recovering from childbirth. That's why Freij is happy to see that nonprofit Organización Latino-Americana is launching a free transportation program to help Latino and all residents get to pediatric and other doctor appointments. "It's a huge relief," Freji told Newsday. "But it’s a shame that it has to be a nonprofit that ...
More Latinos walk and bike instead of drive cars than non-Latinos, which could be the key to address climate change and health equity, according to a recent English and Spanish survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Transportation design, however, doesn't always make it easy to walk and bike safely. Salud America! continues its three-part series exploring the issue of climate change for Latinos, today tackling whether leaders get more people out of cars and into active transportation, boosting health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Part 1 of the series tackled what climate change is, why Latinos are worried, and whether they should be. Part 2 addressed what kinds of policies Latinos would support to address climate change.
The Rise of Latinos Walking ...
U.S. Latinos are more supportive of climate change policies and are more willing to demand political action than non-Latinos. In fact, half of Latinos (50%) think the United States should make large-scale effort to reduce global warming, even if it has large economic costs, compared to 33% of non-Latinos, according to a recent English and Spanish survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Salud America! continues its three-part series exploring the issue of climate change for Latinos, today addressing what kinds of policies Latinos would support to address climate change. Part 1 tackled what climate change is, why Latinos are worried, and whether they should be. Part 3 will focus on a potential solution for both climate change and health equity.
Two Big Policy ...
More than three of four Latinos worry about global warming and climate change, a higher worry rate than their non-Latinos peers, according to a recent English and Spanish survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Why are Latinos so worried? What policies can help? How willing are Latinos to take action, and how will that impact health equity and safer streets? Salud America! is excited to launch a three-part series exploring the issue of climate change for Latinos. Today we will tackle what climate change is, why Latinos are worried, and whether they should be. Part 2 will address what kinds of policies Latinos would support to address climate change. Part 3 will focus on a potential solution for both climate change and health equity.
What is Climate ...
Amazon, one of the biggest American companies, made it clear that public transit is an essential component for choosing a site for their second headquarters. No matter what side of the "Amazon headquarters" debate you land, public transit is a pretty reasonable public good to request from a city because it plays a major role in health, equity, economic development, and sustainability. The thing is, public transit success depends not only on local investment to expand and improve service, but also commitment from federal partners. Yet, the federal government is proposing to eliminate the Capital Investment Grant program, which matches local funds to build new transit systems and upgrade existing systems. Transportation for America created a guidebook, Fight for Your Ride: An ...
