Healthy Design Gets Mueller Community Residents to Walk More

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In Austin, Texas principle investigator Harold “Bill” Kohl, a joint faculty member at the University of Texas in Austin and the University of Texas School of Public Health, is investigating how community design can boost one’s fitness and encourage participation in physical activity. The Mueller Neighborhood which was designed to promote green living has wide sidewalks and many trees, which may encourage residents to walk and bike more. Results from Dr. Kohl’s study will serve to create policy recommendations for developing active living communities across the nation.

In this blog, researcher Bill Kohl explains the importance of creating environments that are conducive to physical activity. Dr. Kohl is currently investigating how community design can encourage physical activity among residents residing in the Mueller Community in Austin, Texas.

According to this news report from KHOU, in the east central area of Austin, what once use to be the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, has now become a popular neighborhood designed to promote walking and active living. The community which lays on 700 acres of land features more than 140 acres of park space and has an easy to reach a farmers’ market. At completion, the Mueller community will contain more than 5,700 homes and of these, 25% will belong to the affordable housing program.

Study: The effect of a neighborhood built environment on physical activity behaviors

According to a 2011 study, residents living in the Mueller Community increased their levels of recreational walking by 91.7 minutes after moving to the Mueller Community.