In Vancouver, B.C., Trevor Hancock is helping the city make the connection between the built environment and the health of the citizens.
Reporter David Ebner writes that there is "mounting research" connecting public health with the shape of cities:
"New research has found that cities designed for cars also foster obesity and diabetes. In studies from Atlanta to Vancouver, evidence shows that people who live in neighbourhoods that require cars to get around are fatter and less healthy than people who live near shops and grocers."
Ebner argues that urban planning used to be more connected with health, but over the decades got more obsessed with separating uses and planning for automobiles. Hancock says it takes a generation shift to change perceptions and policy.
Read the full story: For healthy people, build a healthy city
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello