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The Planetizen News Brief - 11/5/09

5 November 2009 - 5:00am
Smart City Radio

The Planetizen News Brief is a weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues of the past week.

The Planetizen News Brief airs every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City", which is broadcast in cities across the U.S. Learn more about Smart City and listen to archived shows.

Full Transcript:

Chances are if you’re unhealthy, your neighbors are too. But it’s not just bad luck. The problem may also stem from bad land use, according to a number of recent studies linking health issues like obesity, asthma and cancer to characteristics of the built environment. Tackling these health problems before they happen hasn’t really been a big part of the planning process, but now some American cities are trying to make sure it is. The city of San Francisco has started conducting Health Impact Assessments on new projects to try to address and prevent public health problems that may be caused by new development. A recent article from Sustainable Industries magazine details the effort, which monitors impacts ranging from air quality to physical activity. It’s the first such assessment system in the nation, but other cities are already using it as a model for measuring and combating their own land use related health impacts.

In other health news, a recent report out of Chicago finds that suburbanites pay significantly less than city dwellers when it comes to health insurance. The report from Chicago-based Norvax, Incorporated reviewed quotes for health insurance from dozens of companies for more than 3,000 ZIP codes in Illinois. The study was narrowed down to just the Chicago area, where the costs of health insurance seem to drop the farther people live from the center of the city. According to a recent article from the Chicago Sun-Times, people living as far as 40 miles away from the city paid around 20-30% less than Chicago residents. Some experts say the sharp difference in costs is an example of why the country needs a more detailed set of regulations on health care. But unless legal guidance is handed down from the federal government, these sorts of geographic disparities are likely to continue.

And out in Paris, the model bike-friendly city is facing some hard facts. Paris’ much-touted citywide bike sharing program is being forced to acknowledge the stark reality of vandalism, theft and outright criminality. More than 80% of the system’s initial 20,600 bicycles have been stolen or damaged, according to a recent article from the New York Times. They’ve popped up in ditches, mangled on roadsides and even in far-off countries. More than 1,500 bikes a day must be repaired by advertising conglomerate JCDecaux, which operates the system through an agreement with the city. Though there are no plans to cancel the service, the ad agency and the city are hoping a new advertising campaign will help stop the vandalism and encourage more respectful use of what they still hope will be a successful public amenity.

Stories Discussed in This Week's News Brief:

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“
There's no transit to take and there's nothing to walk to. It couldn't be more obvious to planners how big a piece of the picture this is -- development patterns predicated on profligate energy consumption.
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