The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) will award grants to 25 projects nationwide that employ community design solutions that recognize the important role of physical activity in encouraging healthier lifestyles. Each partnership will receive $200,000 to address community design, land use, transportation, architecture, trails, parks, and other tools neighborhoods can use to help integrate physical activity into daily routines.

“We believe these partnerships and their proposed work represent the leading edge of a growing national movement to increase physical activity. As a result, we have a new weapon in our fight to curtail the growing epidemic of obesity and related health problems,” says Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and chief executive of RWJF.

“These grants support innovative partnerships that will create places, programs, and policies that make physical activity something everyone can access and enjoy,” notes Richard Killingsworth, director of Active Living by Design, a national partnership established to create, enhance, and promote environments that make it safe and convenient for people to be more physically active. The $16.5-million program is a national program of RWJF and is based at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Community models
The focus of these efforts will be to develop community models that identify strategies that support the Surgeon General’s recommendation of 30 minutes of moderately intense physical activity at least five days per week. Some of the proposed projects include:

• A Nashville project that focuses on changing land-use policies and regulations at the metro, town, neighborhood, and block levels to support physical activity in the everyday practices of the metro government and developers. Project organizers will conduct: 25 active-living neighborhood audits to be integrated with detailed neighborhood design plans and used to achieve physical improvements; a pilot Walk-to-Shop program for older adults that combines a walking club with physical changes near a senior residential community; Safe Routes to School programs at two schools in high-risk zones; an educational component for policymakers, developers, and real-estate professionals; pedestrian and bicycle safety education and promotion of physical facilities; and a citywide promotional campaign including an expanded series of special events.

  This project provides an opportunity to learn how a strong planning, policy, and regulatory reform effort can make a lasting, large-scale impact on active living in a heavily urbanized county. It could also demonstrate the benefits of combining a large, 10-year commitment of public funding for active infrastructure with a serious effort to develop a community health infrastructure. Finally, it could demonstrate the benefits of consolidated government for achieving meaningful policy reform at the local level.

• A project in Denver will leverage the benefits of the nation’s largest active living development for nearby neighborhoods and residents. Focused at Stapleton (the site of Denver’s recently closed airport) and surrounding neighborhoods, it constitutes one of the nation’s largest urban-infill projects. The Active Living Partnership at Stapleton (ALPS) will include: land-use and street design changes to promote safe walking and biking; the “Colorado on the Move” pedometer-based walking program; a variety of special events focused on active transportation; a Safe Routes to School program; an outreach and incentives program for area businesses; recreational maps; and a focused effort to address barriers to physical activity in and around businesses and residences.

• Chicago residents of Logan Square will work with community groups and local police to make the streets safe for walking and recreation. Here, community efforts include park beautification, “rails to trails” conversions, developing public policy, and promoting leadership.

• Schools and faith-based organizations will be open for after-hours physical activity in Santa Ana, Calif. The area will also use its grant to connect destinations with a "Golden Loop" trail adjacent to the project area; increase access to area faith-based and school facilities during weekday afternoons, evenings, and on weekends; increase opportunities for physical activity for students during the school day; and develop a new YMCA facility and fitness-related programming for area residents.

• A community partnership will develop a multi-use 100-mile trail network that connects 21 small towns in the Wyoming Valley region of Pennsylvania. The trails will be developed in the next five years to connect the communities with schools, shopping, and recreation destinations. Education and promotion efforts include conducting cross-disciplinary forums for health professionals and planners, developing an Active Living Toolbox for employers, and establishing an active-living Web site. Promoting bicycling events for families, creating walking clubs for seniors, and increasing commuting to work along the trails are additional key interventions.

More examples of these projects can be found at the Active Living by Design Web site.

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