June 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 45

tude of daily interactions essential to
human, environmental and economic
health and well-being, " she says.
It is this standard, of " people-first, "
that is increasingly informing how
our cities and urban spaces are
planned and revitalized. " Providing for the fullness of life gives us a
standard to apply when we evaluate
whether a particular initiative will be
beneficial or harmful to the life of a
city, and it can be applied to decisions
that range from something as seemingly small as the width of sidewalk,
and as large as a regional park system, " Lombard says.
Multiple Uses for Multiple Reasons
" I think the fundamental barrier [to
including parks, green spaces and active transportation options in planning
and engineering cities] is our tendency to specialize into single-purpose
professions focused on single-purpose outcomes, " Bill Anderson, FAICP, principal and vice-president at
AECOM, says. He, like Lombard,
acknowledges collaboration among
planners, architects, landscape architects, municipal leaders and park
and recreation professionals is not a
wholly new concept. But, similar to
the medical profession that in recent
decades has splintered into a collection of specialists with few general
practitioners, fields dealing with the
built environment have likewise become siloed as they grapple with
multiple concerns, including health,
environmental quality, value creation,
economic development and aesthetics. " Now is the time to come back together - the objectives of health and
sustainability are just too important to
think otherwise, " Anderson says.
If these related groups all can cooperate in the interest of planning
the healthiest, most sustainable communities possible, the next question
is, what would those communities

look like? How can we, as Lombard
asks, put people first? Anderson suggests acknowledging that our towns
and cities host a multitude of ages
and ability levels, all of whom look
for convenience and comfort in their
day-to-day activities. " Last year the
APA [American Planning Association] conducted a national survey
of millennials and baby-boomers, "
he explains. " A high percentage
said they anticipate moving within
the next five years, and of them, a
high percentage said they wanted to
move to a place that is different from
where they currently live - one that
is more walkable. Other research indicates that the millennial generation
likes to live in more walkable, bikeable, mixed-use, compact urban communities...The baby boomers will
want access to services and, as they
age, not have to drive for every trip.
I think more and more people prefer
to live in multi-generational communities with a variety of housing types
so that if they do move-down, they
can stay within the same community.
Homes and buildings will have to be
more accommodating to people with
disabilities as they age as well. "
The thread connecting the scenarios Anderson describes is active transportation, one of the most
visible and well-used aspects of a
health-conscious built environment.
Anderson considers bike lanes and
adequate sidewalks as some of the
most important and simple additions
to improve a city's health quotient.
" I'm amazed how many commercial districts, including higher density
mixed-use districts, planned and built
in the 70s and 80s have sidewalks that
are no wider than in a single-family neighborhood, " Anderson says.
" Even if an area is not yet ready for
higher density, at least plan and require the right-of-way for wide sidewalks because the developed portion

of a parcel will eventually evolve over
time. Bike streets that are more than a
stripe on the side of a road, as part of
a complete street design, will encourage more people to bike. By linking
these networks to transit, and making
sure they connect to the most important destinations, especially employment centers, schools and commercial districts, communities and cities
will become naturally healthy. "
Active transportation's obvious
partner is mixed-use spaces, that is,
buildings or economic centers with
more than one purpose - shops with
residential apartments above them, for
example. " The presence of mixed-use
destinations is associated with higher levels of walking, " Lombard says.
" Living within two minutes' walking
distance of a park increases the likelihood of meeting or exceeding the
10 minutes of walking a day that is
considered a health baseline. Connectivity matters. Sidewalks, safe streets,
safety in itself, are essential. Conversely, places with few sidewalks, limited
access to green space and parks, that
require car trips for every destination
outside the home, are associated with
higher incidences of disease. "
Finally, says David Rouse, AICP,
ASLA, managing director of Research and Advisory Services for
APA, enhanced connectivity between
active transportation nodes and
mixed-use development is the cherry
on the healthy city sundae. " Walking
paths and bike lanes are important,
but more important is how these
features connect, " he says. " Creating additional parks, bike lanes and
sidewalks increases opportunities to
engage in health-promoting activities, but it is more important that
these features connect to each other
or other types of transportation. I
would add creating a safe, attractive
environment for pedestrians and bicyclists as another important factor. "

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