12/27/2022 0 Comments Unwalkable suburbs![]() ![]() The researchers reviewed several studies on the built environment and their effects on public health and found walkable, activity-friendly cities and neighborhoods were associated with a lower risk of obesity and diabetes. "Shifting the transportation choices of local residents may mean that more members of the population can participate in physical activity during their daily routine without structured exercise programs." Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto and ICES in Ontario, Canada. Booth, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Toronto, St. "The built environment can influence physical activity levels by promoting active forms of transportation, such as walking and cycling over passive ones, such as car use," said Gillian L. Human health is affected by the physical environments we construct. This environment includes buildings, neighborhoods, parks, bike paths, restaurants, shops, roads and public transportation. The built environment is the humanmade structures that provide people with living, working and recreational spaces. Researchers and policymakers have been searching for an effective way to promote healthy lifestyles at a population level to address these dual epidemics. And I hope the groups that stepped up initially to build and fund these projects will be willing to do so elsewhere.Nearly half of the adults in the United States have obesity, and over 11 percent of the U.S. I hope and expect the next phase will be connecting more diverse neighborhoods to the system. Right now the neighborhoods that are best served are whiter and better off than most of the city. They are also thinking hard about equity - and how to ensure these kinds of investments don’t lead to displacement.įor Cleveland’s trail system, as much as I love it, I think everyone acknowledges there’s a big drawback. I was on a panel recently with someone from Rails to Trails in Baltimore, where they are working to build a 35-mile urban trail system. And I wonder how much potentially facilities like this have to change the way we travel, and give normal people alternatives to driving (or even just more opportunities to be active and outside). What a cool idea! It’s interesting to imagine trails helping make unwalkable suburbs function a little differently.Īnyway, I know other urban areas have ambitious trail plans. As part of the deal the municipality was able to negotiate the developer paying to build a trail system for the whole suburb. This is the second year I’ve been a judge and I always find it really inspiring.Īs an example, there’s a suburb here - not a particularly walkable one, called Orange - where a developer built a lifestyle center type mall recently. And learn about all the trail work happening across the county where I live. I also had the opportunity recently to be a judge at Cuyahoga County’s Trails and Greenways Conference. An overlook at our functioning steel mill. Cleveland’s new urban trail system takes advantage of freight and highway right of ways and the waterfront, so you don’t have to interact with traffic almost at all. Sometimes trails do encounter NIMBY resistance. I almost feel guilty to have been endowed with so much great trail infrastructure (and I’ll talk a little more about that later on.)Īs I was riding the other day I was thinking about the potential of urban (and suburban) trails. Having the opportunity to ride on a trail almost daily is a huge quality of life and health boost, both physically and spiritually. The Towpath in particular runs along our industrial valley, with breathtaking views of both downtown, the riverfront and our steel mill.Ĭ. ![]() It opens up whole parts of the city to me that has previously been hidden. I was riding one of them yesterday and I was just blown away.ī. Every week, they are cutting the ribbon on a brand new section of trail. ![]() There are two additional segments that branch out and happen to run sort of right by where I live and - conveniently for me - my son’s school. Now, just in the last two years - pop, the whole thing has happened. I never paid much attention to the discussions honestly. The Towpath Trail was the big one, which runs along the historic path of the Erie Canal all the way down to Akron. The whole time I’ve lived in Cleveland (more than 10 years), people have been talking about the construction of an urban trail system. ![]()
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