Public transportation matters for healthy food access. When grocery stores aren't close to home, which is the case in many Latino neighborhoods, people lack access to healthy food-and various other destinations. Public transportation can play a huge role in connecting families in disadvantaged areas to healthy resources to build a culture of health for everyone. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership developed a 2-page fact sheet which identifies inequities in access and provides examples of strategies for transit agencies to connect neighborhoods and grocery stores. Safe Routes also developed a fact sheet outlining the role of transit agencies in improving food access. Check out these solutions to help transit agencies create and strengthen the connection between ...
Perceptions of place impact behavior, thus health. Think of specific places, like neighborhoods, sidewalks, and parks; specific physical activity behaviors like walking, playing, and biking; and specific health issues, like heart disease, diabetes, and depression. Latino children often lack access-both real and perceived-to safe, available places to be physically active, thus their mental, physical, and emotional health suffer. Literature regarding inequity in places to walk and play and subsequent health disparities is continuously growing. According to a new survey, perceptions of place also impact civic engagement. The Center for Active Design (CfAD) analyzed data from the Soul of the Community survey to explore the relationship between qualities of place and civic ...
Morning physical activity boosts health and academic success! A walking school bus program increases pedestrian safety, reduces neighborhood crime, increases school attendance, and reduces hydrocarbon emissions from traffic. Sadly, Latinos often lack access to safe routes to schools, parks, or other destinations, thus are disproportionately burdened by health disparities and pedestrian fatalities. You can make a difference by starting a walking school bus. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership and California Department of Health created this step-by-step guide outlining how to plan and implement a walking school bus for your school. The toolkit includes proven tools, tips and resources for a fast and easy start. Here is your toolkit - Step-by-Step: How to ...
AllTransit represents the largest source of user-friendly transit connectivity, access, and frequency data in America, using publicly available General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data and new data created by Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and with funding from TransitCenter.
AllTransit analyzes the social benefits of good transit service through the lenses of health, equity, and economic development.
Users can rely on these tools to increase their understanding of the value of quality transit to improve transit and create sustainable and equitable communities.
When families in disadvantaged neighborhoods have access to transit and jobs, they have greater choices between housing units and employment opportunities, and alternative transportation options connecting ...
Neighborhood leaders and residents like Paul D. López and Fany Mendez in the Denver, Colo., neighborhood of Westwood worked together with local organizations to tackle safety concerns on Morrison Road, an arterial street that bisected their neighborhood. In addition to safety issues, they were also concerned about health, because kids can’t play and people can’t walk on busy, unsafe streets. Their efforts led to a pedestrian-activated traffic light, traffic calming features, medians, and aesthetically-pleasing infrastructure and landscaping to make the road more accessible to all. Unsafe Street Scares Kids and Families
Paul D. López, the District 3 City Councilmember in Denver, Colo. (31.8% Latino), grew up a few blocks from his current office on Morrison Road, a busy main ...
Are you concerned about speeding cars in your neighborhood? Residents in San Antonio can request traffic calming measures, like speed humps, speed enforcement, signage, pavement markings and medians using the Traffic Calming Handbook. Developed by the City of San Antonio Department of Public Works, the Traffic Calming Handbook aims to improve street features to reduce the negative effect of speeding and cut through traffic. The Handbook is also available in Spanish. Improving street features to improve safety is critical to promote walking, physical activity, and overall health and wellbeing. This Handbook outlines the process a resident must go through to request a traffic calming measure. It begins by filling out a 2-page form. The first page requires information about ...
Nicolas Rivard and Allison Hu, urban designers in San Antonio and members of Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association, learned about an upcoming street construction project that lacks walkable streetscape elements in their largely Latino neighborhood, and decided to act. The urban designers mobilized and empowered community members to get involved and request walkable streetscape elements, and the city responded by adding street trees, separated sidewalks, and landscaping. Today, through their recent project, Place Changing, the designers use “design activism” or “participatory design” processes to build urban literacy and equip residents with strategies to continue to get involved in city planning and development projects.
Walkability Low in East San Antonio Neighborhood
Nicolas ...
The mostly Latino southern area of Santa Ana, Calif., had limited places to be active—and not a single park. Desperate for more active spaces to give them more chances to get fit and avoid disease and obesity, residents pushed for and received a new park, Corazones Verdes Park. While park construction remained underway, members of Latino Health Access sought alternative active spaces. That’s when they came up with the idea of creating a Wellness Corridor through downtown Santa Ana. Now partners from across the city are discussing ways to make the community more walkable, and residents of all ages are learning to effectively voice the need for healthy options.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: America Bracho, a Venezuelan-born physician and public health advocate for the Latino community of south ...
Thanks to a partnership between Children and Neighbors Defeat Obesity (CAN DO) Houston, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD), and the Houston Independent School District (HISD), students at Briscoe Elementary School in Houston now have new opportunities for the active play they need to ensure health and prevent childhood obesity. Before the collaboration, parents identified a lack of physical activity as a primary health concern; now thanks to an after school busing program, students can attend after-school activities at a nearby park for free.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: In 2005, the 44% Latino city of Houston was named America’s fattest city by Men’s Fitness magazine, prompting the formation of the Mayor’s Wellness Council (MWC) and later the Houston Wellness Association ...
