According to a 2013 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) report entitled Millennials & Mobility: Understanding the Millennial Mindset, the rise of digital socialization, the need to save money, wanting to exercise more, and living in a community where it "makes sense" to use transit systems are all factors that motivate millennials--those born between 1982-2003-- to use public transportation. The research which surveyed 1,000 people in six different cities also found that millennials would like to see reliable public transportation systems (61%); real-time updates (55%); more Wi-fi or 3G or 4G (55%); and more user friendly travel experiences (44%). Click here to read the ...
Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages is likely to decrease consumption, resulting in lower rates of diabetes and heart disease—and these health benefits are expected to be greatest for low-income, Hispanic and African-American Californians, according to a new study, HealthCanal reports. The study, led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Oregon State University and Columbia University, “modeled the national health effects of a penny-per-ounce tax over the course of 10 years and found that it would reduce consumption among adults by 15 percent.” Read more ...
Members of the Joint Use Task Force in California, discuss the meaning and benefit of joint use (shared use) agreements. The joint use statewide task force (JUST) was established in May 2008. The organization is comprised of organizations representing health, civil rights, community collaboratives, planners, local elected and appointed officials, park and recreation officials, school board administrators, academic researchers, and a growing list of groups interested in ensuring that all children have a safe place to play and be active within easy reach. Learn more by watching the Joint Use Explained Videos below, available both in English and ...
Since 1991, BikeTexas has been the unified voice for cyclists across Texas. BikeTexas is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance bicycle access, safety, and education for all Texans. Members of this organization continue to seek safe roads for cyclists and policies to protect the rights of bikers and pedestrians alike. Check out the many resources that Bike Texas has to offer like their Safe Cyclist curriculum, their Safe Routes to School Event Manual, and read about the BikeTexas Kids Kup, which encourages kids to become more involved with ...
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs across the nation are providing children the opportunity to participate in physical activity, by walking to school, while also reducing vehicular emissions, and relieving cities of traffic congestion. The SRTS program was originally introduced as a Federal-Aid program of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) created by Section 1404 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Act (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005. With the passage of MAP-21, as of October 2012, federal funds specifically appropriated towards the SRTS program were no longer available to states. Despite this change in federal law, states can still develop SRTS programs and seek support from the MAP-21's new ...
Healthy Living Matters, A Houston/Harris County childhood obesity prevention collaborative, has complied months of research, surveys, and community input to create a built environment and food assessment of underserved areas around Houston. In the assessment, you'll discover what is holding certain Houston neighborhoods back from incorporating more exercise and healthy eating into their daily lives and the funding and policy recommendations that could make a difference. Read the assessment ...
It's a common belief that if you want to eat healthy, you have to be prepared to spend some money. Researches at the Harvard School of Public Health decided to test this theory, NPR reports. After looking at data from 10 different developed countries that grouped retail prices of food by healthfulness, researchers found that the cost difference between eating a healthful and unhealthful diet was pretty much the same: about $1.50 per day. With many low-income Latino families struggling to eat healthy, energizing meals, this study suggests that small trade-offs at the grocery store could lead to healthier meals. Read more about the study ...
Because Latino children often grow up in areas that lack safe streets and sidewalks it is important to understand how the Safe Routes to School movement can help support communities. If you're looking to gain a better understanding of the how the Safe Routes of School initiative can help bring street-scale improvements check out this resource from the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) National Partnership that talks about MAP-21, the 2012 federal transportation law that determines how transportation funds will be distributed among local communities. The SRTS National Partnership has also put out information on how Safe Routes to School initiatives can work to prevent street violence in areas ridden with high crime ...
If your wandering what shared use agreements (SUA) are all about check out this resource produced by the The Safe Routes to School National Partnership. These resources, available in English and Spanish, detail why shared use agreements are beneficial, what challenges one might encounter in trying establish a SUA, and how SUAs may increase physical activity participation in different settings (i.e. rural, urban, suburban, faith-based). Additional shared use resources aimed at specific audiences like principals, the district superintendent, and the school board are also ...
