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  • Eric Fredericks 10:28 pm on February 23, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Shocking Health Statistics Call For Better City Planning 

    I read a lot of different reports and articles on walkability. I’ve seen lots of presentations from fantastic speakers on the connections between the obesity epidemic and our built environment, including by Richard Jackson, the former California Health Officer. I’ve seen him speak before, and I love how he just lays everything on the line and does not hold back for political correctness. A recent speech he gave at the New Schools Better Neighborhoods symposium was particularly haunting to me. Here are just a few examples of what he said:

    In 1993–94, 6–8 percent of Californians had diabetes. By 1999 8–10 percent had diabetes, and by 2001 the rate was over 10 percent. If you walk down the street in Los Angeles, one person in ten has a disease that will cost them their retinas, their kidneys, and eventually their lives. When I was a young doctor, the fifth most common reason for people needing donated kidneys was diabetes. It’s now far and away the number-one reason. The average 11-year-old in America is 11 pounds heavier than in 1980.

    I did this presentation for Governor Schwarzenegger’s office, and when I interviewed for the job they asked me what my priorities would be. The first was preparedness, the second would be the obesity epidemic, the third would be the need for a Department of Public Health—and I am delighted that Los Angeles has taken that lead, which has an excellent health officer in Dr. Fielding.

    The governor’s folks said, “Obesity? Why are you so concerned about this?â€? But I told them that one-third of all the little kids in schools will be diabetic in their lifetime if the trends we are looking at continue. The average loss of life is about 15 years, and there is an average reduction in quality of life by about 20 years….

    …I would argue that thinking about the future demands, if we’re paying 15 percent of GDP in heath care costs and are looking at an aging population that’s going to be increasingly diabetic, we’re going to have to change the environment to make people happier and healthier. What’s the greatest environmental health threat in the 21st century? I actually think it’s climate change…. You may think it’s crazy, but it’s real. The increases are phenomenal in the 50 years or so. Put the top five hottest years on record have occurred in the lifetime of your 8-year-old daughter.

    This article is really fantastic, especially if you are not as versed in our topical areas. As I’ve said many times before, we’ve got a lot of work to do…

    · Solving the Public Health Crisis with Smarter City Planning [The Planning Report]

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

    • Jessie Jane 10:29 am on March 24, 2007 Permalink

      Eric, would you be willing to share a few tips with my Small Failures readers on how to either take advantage of their own neighborhood resources, or how to help make their neighborhoods more walkable?

      Small Failures tries to focus on practical how-tos, and I think my readers could really benefit from your insights.

      You can email me at: smallfailures@roughstockstudios.com

      Thanks,
      Jessie

  • Eric Fredericks 11:10 pm on October 10, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

    A Cruel World for Disabled Persons 

    Seventy percent of people will be either temporarily or permanently disabled in their lifetime. That is a very strong point to consider whenever you design or plan a project. Sure, in the United States we have the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that provides guidelines to design for disabled pedestrians. In reality, the accessibility guidelines are very weak in some aspects. Plus, just because they are there doesn’t mean that designers necessarily design the facilities correctly. Take a look at the photo above, for instance. Shirley, the wonderful volunteer pictured, could not reach the pedestrian push button from her wheelchair at a traffic signal. If no one else was around, how on earth could she cross a busy street safely? Chances are very high that you as the reader of this article will experience the same situation at some point in your lifetime.

    Another dubious example is pictured below. Shirley was not able to use the sidewalk because it was in such poor condition and had telephone polls and wires in the middle of it. She was forced to use the bike lane to continue down the street. This was a scary experience for her considering some cars were going over 60 miles per hour (mph) when the speed limit was 35mph (Note that cars were parked in the bike lane as well). These photos were taken along Hurley Way in Arden Arcade in the unincorporated part of Sacramento County. Really, these photos could be taken in any town USA. I would imagine that conditions are more hostile than here in most places. Remember, there is quite a large percentage of the population that have mobility issues. Yet, these individuals still want and need to get around and sometimes do not have access to a motor vehicle. If you come across a project where your expertise on this matter is needed, and you do not feel comfortable with your own judgment, please find an expert to consult with. A simple issue such as the height of a pushbutton on a utility pole could adversely affect the lives of many.

    Below is another example of a pushbutton that Shirley could not reach. This time in front of a school at a pedestrian traffic signal crossing!

    The photo below is a very hostile environment in which to cross the street. This was shot on one of the busiest arterials in all of the Sacramento area, on Howe Avenue at Hurley Way.

    Don’t forget that it’s not just about disabled people that use wheelchairs. There are the different needs to consider for the hearing and seeing impaired, and those that use crutches as well. Pedestrian heads at traffic signals should also be timed to accommodate all users, especially those that have trouble crossing the street quickly. If the crossing is very lengthy, create ways to shorten the crossing distances for pedestrians.

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

    • Eric Fischer 10:42 am on October 11, 2006 Permalink

      All the more reason that pushbuttons should be abolished, and traffic lights should simply be timed to give pedestrians enough time to cross!

    • Eric F 6:22 pm on November 10, 2006 Permalink

      I totally agree with you on abolishing pushbuttons and changing the timing to accommodate peds – but why not take it a step further and abolish traffic lights all together? Single-lane roundabouts have shown to be more successful for just about all users. The trick is safety for the visually impaired – but there are a lot of issues for those individuals at intersections as well, and many more points of conflict.

  • Eric Fredericks 11:52 pm on July 24, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

    One in Four People Are Obese in Nine US States – More States Are on the Way 

    New data is available on the obesity epidemic that is plaguing the United States, and this time it is in the prettiest graphical form I have seen to date (or ugliest, when you consider the data it is displaying!). This graphic displays that in 2004 one out of four people in nine U.S. states are obese. We are not talking about people that have an extra few pounds, we are talking about very large people at risk for serious health problems. Obese is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more (about 30 pounds overweight for a 5’4 person). The associated article with the graphic is definitely worth a read as well.

    I am not writing this to pick on these particular states, because most others are not far behind. Here are the nine states that are in the highest category: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. I have spent significant time in each of these states, and the results are not surprising to me. The built environment is not conducive to biking and walking throughout a large portion of these states. Sprawl has infested every last corner of the landscape in some places. And, fast food restaurants with drive-thrus and buffets are the norm. The eating habits are another part of our get-it-quick society. We spend a lot of time behind the wheels of our vehicles and have little time for healthy, home-cooked meals anymore. We want the most “bang for our buck” – and quick. This article could lead into a whole other discussion (or even a new blog) on healthy eating, nutrition, and physical activity.

    To be fair, the BMI Calculator is probably a little harsh. Most people say that I am too skinny (which I am not), and even I come in near the top of their “normal” BMI zone. To calculate your own BMI, visit this site.

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

    • ptom 10:34 am on August 22, 2006 Permalink

      You should do a GIS analysis of Golden Corral locations in relation to obesity rate.

    • Eric 11:25 pm on August 23, 2006 Permalink

      That would be a very interesting study. I think I already know what the results would be. I’m sure that places with higher obesity rates factor into their demographic analysis of where to place new restaurants.

  • Eric Fredericks 11:10 pm on April 3, 2006 Permalink | Reply  

    National Public Health Week and Actions You Can Take 

    This week is National Public Health Week (NPHW) and the focus this year is on children and the built environment, according to the American Public Health Association (APHA). This year’s tagline is “Designing Healthy Communities: Raising Healthy Kids.â€? According to the website:

    Each day of the week, APHA and its partners will encourage Americans to build healthier communities and to raise healthier kids. The week will showcase national communities that have addressed challenges in their built environment and serve as models for other areas across the nation.

    APHA also lists actions you can take every day this week, urging members of Congress to support initiatives to improve children’s health and the built environment. Some of these are really impressive:

    Monday: DESIGNING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, RAISING HEALTHY KIDS

    1. Support Senator Barack Obama’s (D-IL) and Representative Hilda Solis’ (D-Ca) Healthy PLACES (Priorities for Living Actively in Community Environments) Act of 2006, to be introduced this week, which brings together all levels of government to address environmental health issues by: (1) establishing and supporting health impact assessment programs to proactively examine the potential health effects of major policy or programmatic changes, (2) creating a grant program to assist states and local communities to address environmental health hazards, particularly those that contribute to health disparities and (3) accelerating research on the relationship between the environment and health.

    Take Action: Contact your members of Congress.

    2. Fully fund comprehensive public health programs, which ensure access to basic primary health services for millions of Americans – addressing the diverse needs of urban, rural and underserved areas; and training health care personnel to provide needed services.

    Take Action: Contact your members of Congress.

    Tuesday: ACCESS: Surrounding Our Kids with Equal Opportunities

    FEDERAL POLICIES:

    3. Support S. 1513, Senator Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD) Reauthorization of the HOPE VI program, which replaces severely distressed public housing projects, occupied exclusively by poor families, with redesigned mixed-income housing and provides housing vouchers to enable some of the original residents to rent apartments in the private market.

    4. Support H.R. 4609 the High Performance Buildings Act, introduced by Representative Adam Smith (D-WA), which (1) requires that state and local housing strategies include a description of the jurisdiction’s plans to encourage sustainable development for affordable housing, (2) creates a grant program for nonprofit organizations to improve energy efficiency, resource conservation and effective use of existing infrastructure in affordable housing and economic development activities in low-income communities and (3) establishes within the National Science Foundation a Sustainable Building Institute to undertake or support programs in states and communities through providing grants, loans, or other research.

    5. Support H.R.2763, Representative Lois Capps’s (D-CA) Student Nutrition and Health Act, which creates a grant program to fund local educational agencies to purchase or lease vending machines that offer healthy foods or beverages in recommended portion sizes to place in schools.

    Wednesday: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: Surrounding Our Kids with Physical Activity

    FEDERAL POLICIES:

    7. Support urban parks, recreation and open space by fully funding the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program, which provides matching grants and technical assistance to economically distressed urban communities for rehabilitation of critically needed recreation facilities. The law also encourages systematic local planning and commitment to continuing operation and maintenance of recreation programs, sites, and facilities. Support Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) and Representative Zach Wamp’s (R-TN) S.1276/H.R.4359 bill, which amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to include physical education as a required subject for which states must have academic content and achievement standards for all students.

    8. Support S.1325, Senator Bill Frist’s (R-TN) Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act, which establishes a grant program to provide incentives for improved nutrition, increased physical activity, obesity and eating disorder prevention.

    Thursday: SAFETY & TRANSPORTATION: Surrounding Our Kids with Safety

    FEDERAL POLICIES:

    9. Support the federal Safe Routes to School program, which delivers grants to communities to fund transportation projects to make it safer for school-aged children to walk and bike to school. Communities use the funds to fix hazards and build pathways, bike lanes and sidewalks near school campuses.

    10. Support S.794, Senator Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) the Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2005, which requires transportation planners to improve the safety of non-motorized transportation, including bicycle and pedestrian safety.

    Friday: ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS: Surrounding Our Kids with Clean Air

    FEDERAL POLICIES:

    11. Support funding for the National Children’s Study, which was authorized in 2000 and is the first long-term study to examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21. The President’s 2007 Budget proposal eliminates all future funding for the study. Support S.1489/ H.R.4166, The Family Asthma Act Sponsored by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), which awards grants for pilot projects to prevent and control asthma symptoms and to reduce asthma attacks.

    12. Support S.666/H.R.1376, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, introduced by Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Representative Tom Davis (R-VA). The bill provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to regulate the tobacco industry, directing the FDA to eliminate the advertising and promotion of tobacco products to young people and provides penalties to tobacco companies that break the rules.

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

  • Eric Fredericks 6:53 am on November 9, 2005 Permalink | Reply  

    Sign-Language Town Planned for South Dakota 

    Some individuals are incredibly inspirational, and Marvin Miller can fall into this prestigious category. According to an article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Mr. Miller is working with several planners and architects to design and build a brand-new town in rural South Dakota for signers (not just deaf but for hearing signers as well). Mr. Miller, who was born deaf, is supporting the project mostly with his own money, bank loans, and also several donations from benefactors who support deaf causes. Mr. Miller chose rural South Dakota because it has cheap land, a small population, and low taxes. The town will be called Laurent in honor of Laurent Clerc, a French educator who founded the first school for the deaf in the United States. The planned location for the town is off of Interstate 90 between two of the largest cities in South Dakota, Sioux Falls and Mitchell. This would give Laurent access to a major airport and hospital. Mr. Miller wants to build the town in the style of a European village with walkable streets and mixed-use development. He estimates the town will have around 2,500 residents.

    Mr. Miller’s mother-in-law, M.E. Barwacz, has also been a driving force in this project. According to her bio on the Laurent town website, Ms. Laurent envisions Laurent to be a “walkable community where people can keep their independence, without having to drive a car.”

    The project looks as though it is gaining momentum, hopefully the county zoning laws can be changed so that the town can be built. I think this community could exceed expectations if it is designed well. There are very few places in the United States that are built completely compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Those places that are ADA compliant are often the best places to live or visit because if a place is designed with the needs of the disabled in mind it will work for everyone, including children. While Walkable Neighborhoods typically is not supportive of greenfield development, this project can probably receive an exemption because the potential benefits could be huge. (Photo credit: Peter Musty, AIA and Peter Harmatuck of Charrette Center)

    Popularity: 2% [?]

     

  • Eric Fredericks 12:12 am on November 4, 2005 Permalink | Reply  

    Proof That Higher Density Is Better For Your Life Expectancy 

    Recent reports from the Ontario College of Family Physicians provide concrete evidence that many of us in the livable communities field already knew: that people in cities with higher densities (i.e. walkable places) live longer than those that live in lower-density places (i.e. the suburbs). These reports that covered two-thirds of the total population of the U.S. (83 regions) found that the greater the density (sprawl index), the fewer the fatalities per 1000 people.

    The reports demonstrate that lower densities have higher incidence of cardiovascular and lung diseases including asthma in children, as well as cancer and diabetes – all of which can be linked to the higher obesity rates and increased air pollution from gridlock. Perhaps the more surprising total for some non-believers are the increased traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities. This makes sense because of the fact that in higher density places, you tend to walk more. Services are usually provided at a pedestrian scale and the need for automobiles significantly decreases.

    The reports also offer some recommendations on what you should look for when choosing a community. I wanted to see if I the neighborhood I lived in satisfied their criteria. Here are their suggestions (with my results):

    *Can walk to work, stores, schools, parks, restaurants, places of worship, and social gathering spots and therefore, reduce the need to drive.*

    Check. I live within short walking distance of all of those activities.

    *Have pedestrian paths and bike lanes so you can easily continue your daily physical activity.*

    Check. There are wide sidewalks on both sides of every street and bike lanes on the majority of streets nearby.

    *Have efficient public transportation systems that run frequently and on time offering alternatives to driving.*

    Check. I live within a few blocks of three light rail stations and numerous bus routes.

    *Have parks and wildlife areas to help clean and cool the air.*

    Check. I live adjacent to one block park and two blocks from a large regional park.

    Well, looks like I passed their test. Hopefully this means that I will live longer! Walkable Neighborhoods in the future plans to establish criteria to help perform evaluations on whether or not you live in a walkable neighborhood and how you score. Until then, I invite you to rate yourself using their checklist and really think about the place you live. Are you really maximizing your quality of life? Unfortunately, walkability often does not associate with affordability, and sometimes living in high-density areas is not an option for this reason. But when looking at statistics, the correlation between affordability and walkability is really not surprising.

    Source: CoolTown Studios

    Popularity: 1% [?]

     

  • Eric Fredericks 9:40 pm on August 25, 2005 Permalink | Reply  

    Obesity Numbers Out – Maine’s Are Not Good 

    Maine’s updated obesity numbers are out, and everyone in Maine probably wishes they had better numbers to print. The same can be said for just about every state in the US. The Portland Press Herald reports that Maine has the highest obesity rates in New England. The State’s top health official, Dr. Dora Anne Mills, says those figures are no surprise because of Maine’s higher poverty rate. “It’s harder for people with lower income to access healthy foods and (live in) walkable communities,” said Mills according to the recent article.

    Creating walkable communities often results in a higher cost of living. That’s a great selling point for places looking for an economic boost, but it doesn’t help to integrate lower-income households. It is possible to make walkable communities that are affordable to all incomes, but it is not easily done.

    In my estimation, walkable communities are a relatively small factor in the higher obesity rates for low-income populations. I see several bigger factors, including marketing by fast food companies, substandard nutritional value of foods (especially lower-priced foods), new technological advances that distract us from exercising, and a nationwide lack of places to be physically active without first driving. While walkable neighborhoods cannot solve all of these problems, they do certainly encourage daily incidental exercise, which is exercise that you get accidentally just by living in places where walking, bicycling, and mass transit are the logical modes of transportation. Take a walk around a very walkable community, and you are almost guaranteed to see healthier people. Walkability is certainly a contributing factor to that.

    One good thing that I can say about fast food places is that many of them are including bike racks in their developments. The McDonalds pictured above has a bike rack, and many of them I have seen recently have had racks as well (even though in many places they are not required). One McDonalds in Xenia, Ohio has a connection to a regional bike trail, including picnic benches.

    Popularity: 2% [?]

     

    • Coachtoad 10:45 am on August 26, 2005 Permalink

      The basketball program at Maine-Orono is doing really swell, though.

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