A Web Site That Supports Community Change
The public health tells us that in order to battle physical
inactivity and its associated consequences – obesity,
chronic disease, etc. – we need to make neighborhoods
and communities places that better accommodate and encourage
regular, routine physical activity, especially walking and
bicycling. Policy and environmental interventions are critical
to achieving these outcomes. If we don’t change the
“system,” we can’t expect different outcomes.
The majority of the action required will occur at the local
level, within our communities. To spur this action requires
a new level of public awareness about the effects of community
design on health. To help spread that awareness, the National
Center for Bicycling and Walking operates the Active Living
Resource Center, a web site aimed at individuals and small
community-based groups that are trying to make changes in
their neighborhoods. The ALRC web site supports change in
the way communities are planned, designed, and managed to
ensure that existing barriers to physical activity are removed,
and future barriers are not created. The ALRC web site provides
grass roots organizations and community groups with the “nuts
and bolts” how-to procedures that have helped change
communities across the country into more active places.
To visit the Active Living Resource Center Web site, click
here.
