Making Healthy Places is an essential book for all those concerned with how the built environment affects physical, mental and social health and well-being. Andrew Dannenberg, Howard Frumkin and Richard Jackson have compiled a comprehensive text that lays out this new field of study, looks at the data, and identifies some of the tools for … Read more
The creation of public spaces to celebrate cultural heritage and facilitate positive interaction between diverse community groups is an effective way to create healthy communities. In Portland, Oregon is a project that aims to do just that. The Portland Development Commission and the Albina Neighborhood Association are working together on a 2 million dollar renovation … Read more
US Census Data Statistics shows a distinct correlation between obesity rates and the percentage of the population living below the poverty line. Seven of the top ten states on the obesity list also include the highest concentration of poverty. Highly processed foods are cheap, and many families sacrifice their dietary needs in order to purchase … Read more
Fostering intergenerational relationships between citizens should never be as difficult as nuclear fission. Encouraging conversation between all citizens is as easy as simple mathematics; take groups of individuals able to receive and give support, create a safe living environment, and voila! A livable community. The Bridge Meadows complex in Portland, Oregon has done just that. … Read more
It's encouraging when the topics of livability and sustainability begin to crop up in governmental policy and programmatic goals. After all, these concepts mean different things to different people and, as such, can be challenging goals to quantify and budget. It's even more encouraging when such an effort goes global. Recently, in a unique effort … Read more
This project received an IMCL International Urban Revitalization Award award, click here to learn more. Ecuador is launching a visionary project to revitalize social life and economic vitality by restoring 35 historic plazas. At a recent three-day workshop in Ibarra, over 100 representatives from municipalities throughout Ecuador gathered to hear from Ecuadorian and international experts … Read more
Increasingly in recent years, we’ve seen examples of social media having a profound impact on important moments in history. For example, Facebook was instrumental in igniting Egypt’s uprising in Tahrir Square. During U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement of the death of Osama bin Laden, Twitter reached a record of more than 4,000 tweets per second … Read more
The Transition Movement is a growing international network of “transition” towns, cities, islands and hamlets working to wean themselves from a dependence on oil, foreign or otherwise, as well as other finite resources. It’s rhetoric we’ve grown accustomed to hearing—but this effort stands out. In the process of successfully addressing the oil question, this grassroots … Read more
At a time when modern cities across the globe are investing in healthy transit alternatives like cycling, the traditional rickshaw, a dominant form of transportation in Bangladesh, is now being banned in Dhaka for being "slow" and "inhuman." We agree, this ban is "wrong-minded modernization." Especially as we see a rise in popularity of the … Read more
A new Florida HOA proposal is threatening to ban children from playing outside – in their own neighborhood. This got us thinking about the importance of shared space and its impact on the health of kids and communities. There are lots of design solutions that could be implemented to benefit the neighborhood as a whole … Read more