Healthy Neighbourhoods

Is your neighbourhood built to help your family be healthy?

Imagine, every time you walk to the store or your kids walk to school instead of driving you reduce your risk for obesity! Now imagine living in a neighbourhood that helps you maintain a healthy weight?

Did You Know?

• People who live in neighbourhoods with a mix of stores, businesses, schools, workplaces, and housing walk or cycle more often.

• People who live in neighbourhoods with a lot of fast food outlets often have higher weight. (Fu Zhong et al, 2008)

• Each additional kilometre walked per day is associated with a 4.8% reduction in the odds of obesity. (Frank et al., 2004)

How can a neighbourhood help reduce the risk of obesity?

The way neighbourhoods are built can help families lead a healthy, active lifestyle. Neighbourhoods with sidewalks, slower traffic, schools, recreation centres, and stores make walking and cycling easier. People who live in these types of neighbourhoods tend to have healthier weights.

What makes a neighbourhood healthy?

Connectivity:

This refers to how well roads, sidewalks, or paths are linked and how directly you can travel between places. Well connected streets (e.g. grid-like streets with lots of intersections) make it easier and more direct for walkers and cyclists to get from one place to another. Long blocks and crescents make it more difficult for walkers to get to where they are going.

Density:

This refers to the number of people or jobs in an area. People who live in higher density areas use cars less and walk and cycle more than those in low density neighbourhoods.

Land-use mix:

This means having different types of housing, shops, grocery stores, workplaces and schools close together. As mixed land use increases, the chance of obesity decreases.

Aesthetics:

This refers to how an area looks. The more attractive a neighbourhood is the more enjoyable walking and cycling is. Building design, landscaping, lighting, benches all help make a neighbourhood more attractive. Parked cars along the road and shade trees provide a buffer between cars and people, for a safer walk.

How does your neighbourhood measure up?

Ask yourself a few questions to see if you live in a healthy neighbourhood:

• Are there sidewalks on at least one side of the street in my neighbourhood?
• Are there shops, grocery stores, schools, recreation centres, parks and services like a post office, library, or medical office within walking distance from my home?
• Is there a direct, easy way to walk or cycle to these places in my neighbourhood?
• Is a walk or bike ride in my neighbourhood pleasant and enjoyable?
• Are there trees, parks and public spaces in my neighbourhood?
• Is there good lighting on the streets?
• Is there public transit close by?
• Do car drivers behave well (i.e. obey the speed limit)?

Walkability Checklists

• Partnership for a Walkable America Checklist
• Saskatoon Health Region Checklist

Bikeability Checklist

• http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/pdf/bikabilitychecklist.pdf

Other Interesting Sites

Walk Score - Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, and parks.

Google Maps - Google maps has recently added the option of obtaining walking directions for distances under 10 kilometres. This feature is still rather new, so some routes are not the most direct at this time.

Sierra Club - This site has computer-generated before and after photos of neighbourhoods that have been improved with better design.

Ontario Planners - Healthy Communities - The Ontario Professional Planners Institute put together a call to action outlining the need to build healthy communities. This is the 4 page pamphlet.

For Professionals:

Healthy Community Checklist for Planners - Designed in collaboration with public health staff and municipal planners, this guide helps planners comprehensively design neighbourhoods with health in mind. To access the checklist, click here.

Ontario Planners - Healthy Communities - The Ontario Professional Planners Institute put together a call to action outlining the need to build healthy communities. This is the full report.

Books

• Frank, L., Engelke, P. & Schmid, T. (2003). Health and Community Design: The Impact of the Built
  Environment on Physical Activity. Island Press. ISBN - 10:1559639172
  ISBN - 13:9781559639170
• Frumkin, H., Frank, L. & Jackson, R.J. (2004). Urban Sprawl and Public Health: Designing, Planning, and
  Building for Healthy Communities. Island Press. ISBN - 10:1559633050
  ISBN - 13:9781559633055
• Jacobs, J. (1993). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Random House Publishing Group.
  ISBN - 10:0679600477
  ISBN - 13:9780679600473