New Guide Helps City Leaders Design for Physical Activity and Health

The "Active Cities Report" by the Designed to Move coalition provides detailed guidance concerning how to integrate physical activity into community design, and information on the economic, social and environmental benefits that result.

2 minute read

July 5, 2015, 7:00 AM PDT

By Todd Litman


Walking

kaybee07 / Flickr

Designed to Move is a coalition of more than 80 public, private, and civil sector organizations dedicated to ending the growing epidemic of physical inactivity. Their newest report, Active Cities: A Guide for City Leaders, provides detailed information concerning why and how to incorporate healthy physical activity into community design.


The report explains: 

This is about making our cities more competitive.

The research is clear on this claim. Integrating physical activity into the places we work, live, learn, travel, and play is the only way to ensure we move enough to thrive.

Physical inactivity is bankrupting economies at the national level, but it is felt most acutely by the world's cities—often through negative impacts on the health of people, economies, and the environment. This is bad news for cities and their citizens. The good news is there's a solution.

Our bodies are designed to move. Our cities should be too.

Higher levels of physical activity are associated with positive outcomes for most of the things that matter to city leaders. When people move more, crime, pollution, and traffic go down. Productivity, school performance, property values, health, and well-being improve drastically.

Cities that make physical activity a priority, convert existing spaces into active spaces, and design environments for people to be active will create a legacy of physical activity. These active cities will be better off by almost every possible measure.

Our purpose here is to provide a blueprint for creating active cities, whatever their size and wherever in the world they may be.

This report is based on an extensive body of academic research described in the article, "Co-benefits of Designing Communities for Active Living: An Exploration of Literature," written by a team lead by Dr. James F Sallis, recently published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 



Thursday, July 2, 2015 in Active Cities Report - A Guide for City Leaders

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Tunnel for pedestrians, bikes, and buses in Lyon, France lit up with purple lights.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free

Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

7 hours ago - Streetsblog San Francisco

Missouri state Rep. Chris Brown speaking in government chamber.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies

A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

7 hours ago - Missouri Independent

Pedestrians crossing a rainbow painted crosswalk in New York City.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program

The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.

July 16 - Urban Milwaukee