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Publications: Community Design
A Toolkit for Building Physical Activity into Daily Life
Currently, there is a great deal of interest in how the physical
environment affects physical activity and how changes in the environment
can promote active living. These issues have captured public attention as
well as the attention of professionals in public health, planning, and
design. Prepared for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota-sponsored
conference on Health Implications of Community Design: Moving to Combat
Obesity, Former Design Center Director Ann Forsyth prepared a toolkit to provide background information and tools for addressing this issue.
This toolkit starts with general information on how the environment matters in physical activity and then provides more detail about four key dimensions of the environment: density, street pattern, mixed-use, and pedestrian infrastructure. The toolkit is focused on walking rather than cycling, because it is an activity that is inexpensive, does not require special equipment, and almost everyone does it already every day.
The toolkit was slightly updated for a presentation in Duluth in 2005.
Download: Updated toolkit (6.3 MB)
Status: Report Complete
