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Communities Can Encourage More Bike Riding and Walking to Improve Physical Fitness
Production of a guide on accessing federal funds for improving bicycling and walking opportunities
The National Center for Bicycling & Walking developed and published a guidebook entitled Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design: A Guide for Public Health Practitioners.
An advocate for more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly communities since 1977, the nonprofit center, a program of the Bicycle Federation of America, has received several grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to promote more physically active communities.
Originally this project aimed to create a guide for public health agencies and professionals to access underutilized funding available under the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. The focus broadened to include more descriptions of transportation projects that encourage biking and walking and to provide information on diverse funding sources, not just federal transportation funds.
Key Results
The 47-page guide, available from the National Center for Bicycling & Walking and from the center's Web site, includes:
- Background discussion of how poor community design has contributed to physical inactivity and epidemic rates of obesity by promoting primarily automobile use.
- Suggestions about how to create active community environments by improving conditions for bicycling and walking, such as adding and improving sidewalks, safe and convenient street crossings, bicycle-friendly streets and trails, and safe routes to schools.
- Information about accessing funds such as the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, state and local road projects and revenue sources and private donations.
- References (and online links) to land-use planning and community design resources and transportation data to help public health agencies begin improvement projects.
Funding
RWJF provided $50,711 in grant support to the 2001 effort.
After the Grant
RWJF awarded the National Center for Bicycling & Walking (the Bicycle Federation of America) two subsequent grants to provide technical assistance to communities working to promote active community environments (ID#s 041083 and 044281). The latter is part of a new RWJF national program, Pathways to Activity.