Vitus Group Makes Active Design a Priority

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On February 26, 2015, Vitus Group (Vitus), a national affordable housing developer based in Seattle, announced their collaboration with Partnership for a Healthier America and later committed to Active Design Verified, a joint initiative of the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and the Center for Active Design (CfAD), to build healthier communities by incorporating active design elements into 80 percent of its future developments.

Latino neighborhoods often lack these active design elements and face increased rates of obesity and related health disparities. In order to improve equity in active living support and to reduce health disparities in Latino neighborhoods it is important for affordable housing developers to integrate active design features to create communities that support physical activity and encourage healthy behaviors.

“Obesity is the leading cause of preventable death, and the associated medical care costs are an estimated $147 billion per year,” according to a recent article by Stephen Whyte, the founder and managing director of Vitus Group.

Integrating active design strategies supports an active lifestyle, which can positively influence physical activity levels and reduce sedentary time, thus reversing current obesity trends and preventing obesity-related diseases. Developers are in a valuable position to influence health promotion and disease prevention because they create the conditions of daily living for their residents.

Consider this, Vitus has developed and/or acquired more than 9,000 units of tax-credit-financed affordable housing in over 90 projects, located across 17 states since 1996, according to their February 26, news release. In the next few years, they will integrate active design strategies in an estimated 3,000 units of affordable housing, which will impact more than 5,000 people.

“Whether it’s designing visually appealing stairwells to encourage the climb, building outdoor spaces that support walking and biking, or offering on-site exercise and cooking classes, Vitus sees active design as an opportunity to not only impact the lives of affordable housing residents in its properties, but also to reduce resident turnover by creating more supportive and resource-rich communities,” Whyte said.

Read more about Stephen Whyte and Vitus Group’s commitment to building a healthier future by making the healthy choice the easy choice for children, families, individuals, and seniors across the nation.

Learn more about Active Design  Verified.

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