healthy places/healthy communities

Have you ever read about something that seems brilliant and doable only to later find yourself thinking more and more about it?  And then maybe changing your mind and thinking that is impossible.  That will never happen.  And then trying to figure out if it could happen.  And if you could add to the equation and help make it happen?  Or do you know someone that can make it happen?  This concept of smart growth or new urbanism is just that.  It is one of these ideas that I learned about during a class project and I just can’t shake.  It is so smart and so necessary.  Why isn’t everyone talking about this?  The whole community would be healthier and happier.  So let’s look at the concept here for a little bit.

To start, this is the video that we watched by Dr. Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH, the former director of CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. It is a quick streaming video that will help you get started on this idea

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/cdc_healthy_community_design_webserver/default.htm

But then I went further looking for other ideas.  I checked out TED.com of course.  

In case you didn’t know, TED.com is a fabulous site that gives people with all sorts of expertise the chance to have their ideas heard.   It is a non-profit organization that has grown and allows selected speakers the chance to present new ideas to a global community.  On TED.com, I found this video by Kent Larson.

 

Mr. Larson took the concepts even further.  In his video, he talks about folding cars and apartments that could change their layout.  But more importantly, compact urban cells – small towns that can provide most of what people want or need within a 20 minute walk.  Then he talked about the new mobility parkways in cities like Boulder, Colorado; Seoul, South Korea, and the hi-line in Manhattan that would provide a safe route for pedestrians between each compact urban cell.  These are great improvements for pedestrians but also some consideration should be given to biking – like in Copenhagen, Denmark where 42% of trips in city are by bike.  Electric bikes that can be used by business commuters, elderly and disable folks are also discussed in an effort to address issues related to energy, congestion, mobility, aging, and obesity simultaneously.  There are some great ideas out there.  We can only hope some of them are put into action!