Smart
Growth America | Surface Transportation Policy Project
For
further information, contact: David Goldberg, SGA (202) 412-7930
James Corless, STPP, (415) 956-7795
August
28, 2003
Research
LinksSprawl
and Health SGA, STPP issue companion report with local
data
A new national study and special issues of two prestigious medical
journals released today offer powerful indications that sprawling
development has a hand in the country's obesity crisis. Together,
they demonstrate the urgent need to invest in making Americaís
neighborhoods appealing and safe places to walk and bicycle.
The peer-reviewed study, which used a county sprawl index developed
in partnership with Smart Growth America, found that people living
in automobile-dependent neighborhoods that suppress walking do indeed
walk less, weigh more, and are more likely to suffer from high blood
pressure.
The study, Relationship between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity,
Obesity, and Morbidity is being published in a special issue
of the American Journal of Health Promotion. Smart Growth America
and the Surface Transportation Policy Project have issued a companion
report, Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl, which gives
county-level data illustrating the findings for the metropolitan
areas studied. In most metropolitan areas, residents in more sprawling
counties are heavier and face higher odds of being obese and having
high blood pressure than those in less sprawling counties.
“Along with the recent national attention to diet, this research
shows that the lack of convenient, walkable communities may help
explain why so many Americans are battling high blood pressure and
obesity,” said Don Chen, executive director of Smart Growth
America. “It shows why we should work harder to create great
neighborhoods and cities that invite walking, biking and other physical
activity as a part of everyday life.”
While the health researchersí findings argue for greater
government support of building walkable, bike-able places, Congress
at this moment is preparing to vote on a massive transportation
bill that actually would eliminate funding for local bicycling and
walking facilities and cripple efforts to expand public transportation.
“Communities with a wider variety of transportation options,
including walking and bicycling, are healthier places to live,”
said Anne Canby, President of the Surface Transportation Policy
Project. “We urge Congress to remember this when voting on
the transportation appropriations bill in September: A vote to restore
critical funds for bicycle and pedestrian facilities is a vote for
public health.”
Many communities around the country already have plans in the works
to build more paths, bike lanes, and sidewalks, and are taking creative
approaches to public transit and development. But these plans may
fall through if federal funds dry up.
The report outlines seven steps communities can take to respond
to the findings of the research, including short-term projects such
as:
-
Investing in completing sidewalk networks, striping bike lanes,
and making street crossings safer.
- Instituting programs that focus on making it safe for children
to walk and bike to school. A bill that would provide federal
support for a national Safe Routes to School program is under
consideration in the House of Representatives.
- Calming traffic with speed humps and bulb-outs.
- Educating and encouraging people to choose to walk, instead
of drive.
Over the longer term, communities can:
-
Focus development around train and bus stations, so people can
conveniently run errands and get to work by leaving their homes
on foot.
- Retrofit sprawling communities with sidewalks, pedestrian cut-throughs,
and small shops.
- Revitalize existing walkable neighborhoods.
- The study is the first national research to find a direct link
between sprawl and obesity. It is one of dozens of articles published
in special issues of the American Journal of Health Promotion
and the American Journal of Public Health on the built
environment and health. The editors of the two journals released
their results simultaneously to highlight the importance of the
topic.
- The report, Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl,
and other materials can be download below. State fact sheets are
available for metropolitan comparisons.
Smart
Growth America is a coalition of nearly
100 advocacy organizations that have a stake in how metropolitan
expansion affects our environment, quality of life and economic
sustainability.
The
Surface Transportation Policy Project is a diverse,
nationwide coalition working to ensure safer communities and smarter
transportation choices that enhance the economy, improve public
health, promote social equity, and protect the environment.
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