In 2011, San Antonio started Siclovia--an event that closes off a busy road to street traffic, in order to open it up to cyclists, skaters, and pedestrians. The free event was a huge success and has served as a way to promote fitness, and awareness of the obesity problem in San Antonio. Since 2011, Siclovia has become a yearly tradition in San Antonio and the number of people who attend the event has continued to grow. According to this article from Bike Texas, in 2012, the event drew close to 40,000 participants. The response has been so overwhelming that two events were planned during 2013. Now the YMCA has taken charge of organizing San Antonio's yearly Siclovia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XteTXq5zxA The idea for Siclovia comes from the original closed streets ...
In January of 2013, Salud al Pasito was formed by University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) students wanting to emphasize the low cost, easy-to-do, family friendly, activity of walking to the Latino community. One month later, on February 16, 2013, the group held their first walking event. Every month the group organizes a walking event and invites a guest speaker from the medical community to discuss the many health benefits that can be derived from walking. Check out the Salud al Pasito Facebook page to see when the next event will take ...
The San Antonio Bike Plan was adopted as part of the City’s master plan in the fall of 2011. The plan has already influenced and contributed to other initiatives such as the Complete Streets Ordinance (2011), SA 2020, the Downtown Transportation Study, and the 2012-2017 $596 Million Bond Program, passed by voters in May of 2012. The San Antonio Bike Plan has also been recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects for the Texas Chapter Merit. Resources Maps of San Antonio's existing bike infrastructure. View the full City of San Antonio Bike Plan and additional resources. The San Antonio Bikes GIS Mapping ...
Due to concerns over the safety of infrastructure near schools, District 1 Councilman Diego M. Bernal of San Antonio, Texas has proposed a plan for repairing sidewalks and lighting around schools. The new plan to implement new funding strategies, would require collaboration between city officials, CPS Energy, and San Antonio school districts. Read Councilman Bernal's Council Consideration Request for Safe Access to ...
In 2012, the Better Block Team and City of San Antonio residents took some time to see what West Commerce, a four-lane street, would look like if improvements were made to encourage walking and biking. The Better Block event allowed citizens to imagine what their community would look like with temporary bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. City officials looked to the reaction of constituents to decide how funds from the 2012 bond program would be spent. Read More About San Antonio's Better Block Experiment Recap of Final San Antonio Better Block for 2012-Case Study: Transportation and Retail Study Testing West Commerce Temporary Transformation into a Better Block (San Antonio Express ...
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro appointed the Mayor’s Fitness Council (MFC) in May 2010. The mission of the Mayor’s Fitness Council is to transform San Antonio into a healthier and more active community in which citizens, groups, and organizations achieve targeted health and fitness goals through initiatives in the following areas: media and promotions;
fitness;
nutrition;
healthy schools;
work-site wellness; and
policy. The MFC is also encouraging youth to be health ambassadors through the Mayor's Fitness Council Student Ambassador program. These outstanding kids are committed to bringing healthier lifestyles into their schools and communities. Watch the video to learn more about the Student Ambassador Program. To learn more about the Mayor's Fitness Council ...
The City of San Antonio is in the process of developing a new snack vending contract and have incorporated the Healthy Vending Guidelines into the contract. In 2002, the Health Collaborative developed and launched the “Fit City Healthy Vending Guidelines” which guided San Antonio’s healthy vending efforts for nearly a decade. In 2011 the Health Collaborative and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District came together to update and strengthen the guidelines in response to increasing obesity and diabetes rates throughout the community. They engaged a coalition of community and public health experts, dietitians, and food distributors to design the new “San Antonio Healthy Vending Guidelines”. The new guidelines include a set of specific nutrition criteria; as well as ...
The Healthy Selections Coalition for Corner Stores is an initiative of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities and the Communities Putting Prevention to Work grants through the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. The Coalition seeks to provide nutritious food items at affordable prices to local corner stores, specifically targeting neighborhoods most in need. Throughout 2011, this coalition has developed a marketing and outreach strategy, met with local corner store owners and other stakeholders, and launched the ‘Tiendita Por Vida’ Healthy Selections Initiative in 2 corner stores within the Westside of San Antonio. The ultimate goal will be to build upon success in 2011 and add additional corner stores to the project in 2012 and ...
In October of 2012, at the 140th Annual American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting, The Governing Council created a resolution to support the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP), as a strategic plan to improve physical activity rates in the United States. The NPAP includes over 250 strategies for active living similar to those mentioned in the 2011 National Prevention Strategy, published by the National Prevention Council through the General Surgeon's Office. It outlines strategies that would increase physical activity in all segments of the population, with special emphasis towards the vulnerable and at-risk populations. The plan features recommendations for 8 different sectors of society, which include: Business and industry
Education
Health Care
Mass ...
