Active Living Plan for a Healthier San Antonio

Katherine Velasquez & John Osten

Brief History on Modern-Day Urban Planning and Public Health

Brief History on Modern-Day Urban Planning and Public Health

"Active living" is a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines, such as…

What is Active Living?

walking to the grocery store

riding a bicycle to work and/or exercising

Physical activity is ESSENTIAL for good

health!

Asthma

• Physical inactivity has an astonishing array of harmful health effects.

– The association between disease and inactive lifestyle persists in every subgroup of the population.

Cancer

Chr

onic

Pain Diabetes

Premature Death

Obesity

Exercise and Health

• Exercise is a powerful tool to treat and prevent chronic disease and obesity, as well as premature death.

– As physical activity increases, health benefits increase, too.

More Energy!

Better Health!

Stronger!

Sleep better!Feel Better!

Exercise and Health

Exercise and Health

• People who are physically active and fit live longer and healthier lives.

• The inactivity epidemic is more concerning than the obesity epidemic.

• It is better to be “fat and fit” than “thin and unfit.”

Irrefutable Evidence

Source: Sallis, Robert (2013) “Exercise Is Medicine: Merging Fitness with Healthcare”

Death Rates by Fitness & BMI Categories

Adult• 150 minutes per week of

moderate physical activity, OR

• 75 minutes per week of vigorous physical activity,

OR

• An equivalent combination

• Plus muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days per week

Children & adolescents• 60 minutes or more of

physical activity each day. – Aerobic activity– Muscle-strengthening,

3 days– Bone-strengthening, 3

days

About ¼ of

adults meet

these

guidelines, and

about ¼ of

adults do not

get any activity

at all.

30% of adolescents meet these guidelines, while 15% do not get

any activity.

National Guidelines for Physical Activity

Standardized Share of Mode for Trips to School:National Personal Transportation Survey

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001

Year

% o

f Trip

s

Car

Bus

Walk/bike

Public Transit

McDonald NC. Am J Prev Med 2007;32:509

Transportation Choices

We tell people they should be more active, and then we send

them out into communities that do not support active lifestyles.

Individuals must take responsibility for making lifestyle choices to improve their health.

Healthy people require healthy environments.

Our community must commit to creating an environment that helps residents make healthy choices. THE HEALTHY CHOICE SHOULD BE THE EASY CHOICE.

• Supported with Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant funds, SAMH department initiated the launch of the Active Living Council of San Antonio (ALC) in 2009

• Multi-sector, volunteer-driven community coalition was directed to develop a 3-5-year plan to promote active living

• 18-month collaborative process to develop the plan

How the ALC Formed

Active Living

Council

Business &

IndustryEducation,

After School &

Early Childhood

Healthcare

Mass MediaParks,

Recreation Fitness &

Sports

Public Health

Trans-portation,

Land Use & Community

Design

Volunteer & Non-Profit

Every sector has a role to play.

Shares the vision of the National Physical Activity Plan:

“One day, all Americans will be physically active and they will live, work, and play in environments that facilitate regular physical activity.”

• Provides a set of policies and strategies that aim to increase physical activity in all segments of the San Antonio Area population.

• The plan aims to create a local culture that supports physically active lifestyles. Its ultimate purpose is to improve health, prevent disease and disability, and enhance quality of life.

Purpose

• The plan recognizes that individuals are impacted not just by their own personal attributes and behavior, but also by political, cultural and environmental influences.

• Our success is dependent upon engaging leadership and working collaboratively to implement the plan.

Guiding Principles

Create ALCLearn about

active living

Write a plan

Get the word out

What’s Next for ALC?

Overall purpose of planning & zoning?

HEALTH

SAFETY

WELFARE

Health & Planning

How Does Built Environment Impact Our Health?

MORE

automobile-oriented,

low density,

single use

development pattern w/

low connectivity

& auto culture

LESS likely to

have a physically active

lifestyle

Hard To Live Without An Automobile!

Hard To Live With An Automobile!

The way we live, work, and play is dependent largely on our built environment. Environmental and policy decisions regarding transportation, land use, and community design can change the physical activity behaviors of residents on a large scale. Planning at the regional, county, and local levels must plan for people, rather than for cars and parking lots. Traditional, conventional urban design in our community supports sedentary behaviors. A healthy community is one that includes multi-modal transportation choices and promotes equitable, affordable housing and mixed use opportunities. San Antonio’s environment must shift to design that supports active living of all residents, promoting stair climbing, walking, bicycling, skateboarding, using mass transit, and active recreation. The ALC envisions healthier streets, urban spaces, and buildings for a livable and active future.

Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design

Strategy #1Through regional and local community design, prioritize resources and provide incentives to increase active transportation and other physical activity by designing for “people first,” that is to encourage walking and bicycling, through all regional and local community design, infrastructure projects, systems, policies, and initiatives.Strategy #2Use a comprehensive, strategic, and collaborative approach to increase connectivity and accessibility to essential community destinations, to increase active transportation and physical activity by utilizing the concepts of infill development, transit orientated development, and complete streets, and to revitalize the region’s livable and sustainable communities.

Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design

Local government officials and community leaders can enact policies that support healthy community design; i.e. local zoning ordinances & economic incentives affect the built environment:

• By Creating Genuine Urban Fabric– Parks and open spaces for recreation– Walk/Bike facilities– Mixed use developments– Healthy food retailers & farmers markets

Conclusion

What have we become?

VIDEO

Resources

• www.Activelivingresearch.org

• www.Everybodywalk.org

• www.Americawalks.org

• http://www.physicalactivityplan.org/

• http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/html/design/active_design.shtml

http://fitcitysa.com/exercise/active-living-council.html

www.facebook.com/ActiveLivingCouncilSA

Adaptation of CDC Framework* for Preventing Obesity

Energy Intake Energy Expenditure

Energy Balance

Prevention of Overweight and Obesity Among Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Individual Factors

Behavioral Settings

Social Norms and Values

Home and Family

School

Community

Work Site

Healthcare

Churches

Genetics

Psychosocial Factors

Other Personal Factors

Food and Beverage Industry

Agriculture

Education

Media

Government

Public Health Systems

Healthcare Industry

Business and Workers

Land Use and Transportation

Leisure and Recreation

Faith-based Organizations

Food and Beverage Intake

Physical Activity

Sectors of Influence

CDC Draft – last revised, March 24, 2005*adapted from IOM 2005

• Individual• Interpersonal• Institutional/Organizational• Community• Social Structure, Policy, and

Systems

Social Structure, Policy, and Systems

For example:

Complete Streets

Form-based Development

Joint-Use Agreements

Community Design & the Built Environment

• Environmental factors beyond the control of individuals contribute to increased obesity and poor health by reducing the likelihood of healthy eating and active living behaviors.

• Environmental factors that influence physical activity behavior:– Lack of infrastructure

supporting active modes of transportation, i.e. sidewalks & bike facilities

– Access to safe places to play and be active

– Access to public transit– Mixed use & Transit Oriented

Developments

Centers for Disease Control Strategies to Create Safe Communities that

Support Physical Activity

1. Improve access to outdoor recreational facilities

2. Enhance infrastructure supporting bicycling

3. Enhance infrastructure supporting walking

4. Support locating schools in residential neighborhoods

5. Improve access to transportation

6. Zone for mixed-use development

7. Enhance personal safety where people are or could be physically active

8. Enhance traffic safety in areas where persons are or could be physically active