Can Active Living Design Curb Obesity?

Biomedical research journal Nature Medicine explores promising examples of active living -- from Colorado's Stapleton community to Sprint's Kansas headquarters -- and how changing lifestyles through built environment changes is addressing America's obesity epidemic:

"Stapleton, built on the remnants of Denver's old airport, was designed to recreate the best of city living—inviting sidewalks, neighborhood storefronts and economic diversity—with some of the safety, quiet and convenience of traditional suburbs.

The typical American suburb, which evolved during the 'car is king' mentality of the 1960s, built wide streets, cul-de-sacs and garage-in-front housing designs at the expense of parks and walking paths.

Stapleton, in contrast, is four square miles of high-density mixed-income housing, schools, mini-parks, 'main-street' shops and a town green, all connected by sidewalks and greenways. The goal was for the neighborhood paths to lead to real destinations such as the playground, school or grocery store, says Tom Gleason, spokesman for Forest City, Stapleton's developers."