The streetcar is back along the Texas-Mexico border, thanks to a Latino man's brilliant "fake" ad campaign. Peter Svarzbein, an El Paso native, loved how a historic international streetcar system used to connect downtown El Paso, Texas (82.2% Latino) to downtown Cuidad Juárez, Mexico. But it closed in 1974. Today many in El Paso lack public transportation to reach places they need to go, which harms their health, educational, and employment opportunities, and the economy. So Svarzbein created a fictional, yet powerful ad campaign to simulate the return of El Paso's border-crossing streetcar for his graduate thesis project at New York's School for Visual Arts. Svarzbein's El Paso Transnational Trolley Project sparked enough curiosity and enthusiasm to create a real ...
Many families aren't as active as they would like to be because they lack safe places to walk, bike and play. In fact, the U.S. is failing five of nine factors that reflect walking and walkable communities. Latinos in particular face barriers to walk, which negatively impacts physical and mental health, as well as economic prosperity. Are you interested in helping to make walking more commonplace for families in your community?
Micro Grants;
America Walks is hosting a round of micro grants for up to $1500 to fund or start smaller-scale, low-cost projects and programs. The goal is to increase the prevalence of walking, expand the diversity of people and organizations working to advance walkability, and help to make walking safer, easier, and more fun for all community ...
Sadly, more than 1,300 people died in motor vehicle crashes in Georgia in 2013. Beyond the terrible heartache for the families and friends of those involved, these crashes amounted to more than $1.6 billion in medical and work-loss costs. Buford Highway, an eight-mile corridor in Atlanta known for authentic international restaurants, is the most dangerous road for pedestrians in Georgia. Located on the northeast side of Atlanta, which is largely Latino, there were 22 pedestrian fatalities from 2003 to 2012 on Buford Highway. What can reverse this grave trend and save the lives of Latinos and the livelihood of those restaurants?
Cars vs. Pedestrians
Many cities are plagued by wide roadways, like Buford Highway. Even though this road offers many restaurants, it doesn't ...
Sacramento has mild weather, light rail, and many bike paths. But people still heavily depend on cars in this 23% Latino city, according to its relatively low walk score. Sacramento also is like many other California cities, where urban planners face a big challenge to create more ways for a rising population to walk and bike. Fortunately, a group of diverse youth are making a difference for more walking, bicycling, and skating.
Youth Step Up for Safer Streets
The Walk & Bike Youth Leaders Program started in Sacramento in 2017, thanks to the California Bicycle Coalition, California Walks, and the California Center for Civic Participation. Program organizers chose 11 youth ages 16-23. The youth will partake in four online training sessions. They will learn how to ...
The U.S. is failing five of nine factors that reflect walking and walkable communities, according to a new report card. Children's walking behavior, pedestrian infrastructure, safety, institutional policies, and public transportation were graded an "F" by the new 2017 United State Report Card on Walking and Walkable Communities. The report is from the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance, which developed a system to evaluate U.S. walking and walkability.
Why walking is critical in Latino neighborhoods
Walking is a natural and inexpensive activity to improve health and prevent chronic disease. However, safe places to walk are often not accessible, particularly in Latino neighborhoods, according to our own research. Thus, many Latino children and adults don't walk and suffer ...
Systematic housing segregation in the 1900s is the root of many social and environmental justice issues. One big one is inequity in neighborhood walkability, which leads to disparities in mental and physical health. Without safe places to walk, Latino families are robbed of opportunities to be healthy and thrive. Use #SaludTues on Sept. 26, 2017, to Tweet about potential solutions to improve walkability for all. Fueled by Richard Rothstein’s book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Government Segregated America, and America Walks upcoming webinar series, Walking Towards Justice, we will be discussing the intersection of residential segregation and walkability. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Intersection of Walkability & Residential Segregation”
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Two critical parts of every bus trip are the walk there and the walk back. Sadly, many streets are designed for cars, not families, making for some very sorry bus stops. Safe routes and safe bus stops are critical for people to access basic necessities, like schools, work, grocery stores, parks, healthcare, and other cultural and historical community resources. Streetsblog USA is calling attention to sorry bus stops during their 2017 Sorriest Bus Stop in America tournament. The goal is to motivate action from the streets and transit agencies who are responsible for designing and constructing the bus stops. You can enter the competition by submitting a photo of the sorriest bus stop with the exact location (preferably tagged in Google Maps) and a short description of what ...
New Orleans has a lot at stake when it comes to climate change. Among many strategies to reduce dependence on carbon-fired power and increase locally generated solar energy, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced plans in July 2017 to address climate change by redesigning regional public transit so 50% of trips are taken by modes other than driving, such as walking or biking. “It is not enough to plan for how we will adapt to climate change,” Landrieu wrote introducing the new climate action strategy for the city. “We must end our contribution to it.” Not only can improving sidewalks and bike lanes make it safer and easier not to travel by car, but making routes and public transit more relevant and useful can also address racial inequity and health ...
How many people do you think are killed or severely injured in traffic crashes each year? What do you think is a good goal for your state? What should the goal be for your family? Should that be the goal for everyone? Oregon's regional Metropolitan Planning Organization, Metro, asked residents these questions at the KidFest! Family Expo in February 2017. See video. The goals was to frame traffic fatalities as preventable and raise awareness about Vision Zero. Vision Zero is an innovative road safety policy to make streets safer and eliminate traffic fatalities Skeptics claim that car crashes are an inevitable outcome in our vehicle-dominated society. Vision Zero draws a hard line between crashes and fatalities. Fatalities and serious injuries are not inevitable and ...
