You don't need a college degree and you don't need to recite Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to initiate change in your community. YOU can make a difference in your community through both political and non-political processes. Follow the news. Learn about community issues. Discuss with friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Follow city leaders and elected officials on social media. Reach out to city leaders, elected officials, and other agencies/groups/organizations. Although people may approach issues from a different point of view, ultimately, people care deeply about health and equity. Register on our site to connect with people like you interested in starting or supporting healthy social, political, or environmental change in your community or school. YOU can impact social ...
Alzheimer’s Disease, a type of dementia that causes “problems with memory, thinking and behavior” affects more Latinos than Whites and other ethnic groups, but according to researchers playing brain games may delay the development of this disease and dementia in healthy adults, NBC Health reports. The findings presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference showed that brain games cut the risk of dementia by up to 48% among healthy adults. “The new findings would be quite promising if they hold up through peer review and publication in a scientific journal,” Dr. John King, an expert in social research at the National Institute of Aging told NBC Health. What are some popular brain games? The most popular brain games in the market that offer a free ...
Because walking has numerous health benefits, it shouldn't be so complicated to figure out where kids and families can walk safely and be physically active in nature. The following infographics (English and Spanish) from the National Recreation and Parks Association, EverybodyWalk, National Environmental Education Foundation, Active Living Research,and the Surgeon General demonstrate how powerful nature walks are to transform your health and why everyone deserves safe access to parks and places to walk. National Recreation and Parks Association - Safe Routes to Parks
National Recreation and Parks Association - The Power of Parks
EverybodyWalk - Anatomy of Walking
EverybodyWalk - Health Benefits of Walking Health Benefits of Walking in Spanish National ...
The city of Austin, Texas (34.83% Latino population) is one of the country’s fastest growing metropolitan areas. In addition to being the state’s capital, it is also home to a thriving tech industry base, a large college town, and a growing center for the entertainment industry. Like many cities in Central and South Texas, it is also a majority-minority city. No demographic group is currently the majority Austin’s population. When it comes to representation in the city government, Austin’s diversity has led to some considerable challenges. To address these long-standing concerns and feelings of inequality and representative inequity, the city has begun the creation of an Equity Office. “We felt like there were not enough Latina women in positions at the very top,” said ...
Data plays a key role in driving changes operational, procedural, social, environmental, and political change. In 2015, the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) started hosting Innovation Labs, interactive events to bring the sharpest minds both in and outside the field of parks and recreation to explore how innovative thinking can meet emerging challenges, reduce costs, and better serve the public. In May, 2016, NRPA in conjunction with the City of Boston, the Boston Department of Parks and Recreation, and Sasaki Associates hosted an Innovation Lab to determine how innovation in data driven government could affect the field of parks and recreation, and how public agencies can leverage that data in Boston. Boston (17.5% Latino) hosted this event focused on data because ...
Having healthy eating habits from early ages is important to setting up a healthier future. According to a recent study article, one in five children in the U.S. entering elementary school is overweight, but new research has revealed that the USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program has improved roughly four million children's' diet quality. Researchers funded by the National Institute of Health looked at how diets changed with new WIC food packaging, discovering that children in WIC households had eaten some vegetables while only one in five children, not receiving WIC, had any vegetables. Studies also show Latino kids often face less access to healthy foods in their schools and neighborhoods, resulting in poorer ...
When communities consider projects to reduce crime, promoting green space is gaining popularity. And credibility. There is evidence that vacant lots play a role in the health and safety of nearby residents. Although the specific mechanism by which green space-trees, shrubs, and lawns-affects behavior is unclear, adding green space to vacant or blighted areas is linked to reduced crime. It may be through the "broken windows" theory, the "cues to care" theory or through informal surveillance of having more "eyes on the street," a concept developed by Jane Jacobs. In 2010 the city of Youngstown, Ohio (9.3% Latino) launched a program to transform vacant areas, which was about 31% of the city's land area. Contractors were hired to transform some vacant lots through mowing and ...
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 ...
LOCUS and the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at the George Washington University School of Business released Foot Traffic Ahead 2016, a report ranking the country's 30 largest metropolitan areas focusing on walkable urban places (WalkUPs). LOCUS is Latin for "place." Place is important. According to the report, places with the highest levels of walkable urbanism are also the most educated, wealthy, and socially equitable. The new report will include three different rankings for all 30 metro areas: current walkability, development momentum, and social equity. In addition to market-driven development trends, current walkability, development momentum, and social equity of urban places are relevant indicators when considering population health because they ...
