'Health happens in neighborhoods, not doctors' offices'

In the first of three weekly articles about healthier communities, New York Times "Personal Health" columnist Jane E. Brody delves into a theme that has gained widespread attention from urbanists and public health experts during the past several years.

"Health happens in neighborhoods, not in doctors' offices," Brody writes, quoting one of the main points voiced by Dr. Richard Jackson in his public television series, Designing Healthy Communities.

Dr. Jackson, who chairs Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA and previously directed the Nationnal Center for Environmental Health at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, contends that unless changes are made soon in the way many neighborhoods are constructed, people in the current generation—those born since 1980—will be the first in America to have shorter lives than their parents. 

Brody draws from facts and case studies that Dr. Jackson presents in the 4-part TV series and in his companion book, also titled Designing Health Communities. The book was reviewed in the January-February 2012 print edition of Better! Cities & Towns. 

Among the findings cited by Brody:

• In 1974, 66 percent of all children walked or biked to school By 2000, that number had dropped to 13 percent.

• Now that physical activity has been engineered out of children's lives, only a quarter of the children in California can pass a basic fitness test. Two in seven volunteers for the military cannot get in because they're not in good enough physical condition.

• There aren't enough sidewalks, nearby parks, and safe places to walk, bike, or play outdoors in many communities. The design of these communities makes it harder for young people to develop autonomy—something that's as important as strength as endurance.

Signs of hope include the Atlanta Beltline plan for 22 miles of walking and bike trails, along with light rail; conversion of a dead shopping mall in Lakewood, Colorado, into the Belmar mixed-use center; and rejuvenation of an area along the Fox River in Elgin, Illinois.

The PBS series began airing in some markets in late January, and will start to be broadcast in other regions on various dates in February. The schedules for the show across the country are available here.

For more in-depth coverage on this topic: 

• Subscribe to Better! Cities & Towns to read all of the articles (print+online) on implementation of greener, stronger, cities and towns.

• See the October-November 2011 issue of New Urban News (as our print newsletter was known for 15 years). Topics: HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods, Parking reform, transit-oriented parking policy, Obama vs. Congress, West Virginia town revitalizes, suburb remakes its center, ecological dividend, cul-de-sac makeover, thoroughfare manual, and much more.

• Get New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide, packed with more than 800 informative photos, plans, tables, and other illustrations, this book is the best single guide to implementing better cities and towns.

• See the September 2011 issue of New Urban News. Topics: Walk Score, sprawl retrofit, livability grants, Katrina Cottages, how to get a transit village built, parking garages, the shrinking Wal-Mart, Complete Streets legislation, an urban capital fund, and much more.