Greenways/trails

Active Living By Design Advocacy Resource Guide

vconti — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:40:47 -0500

Spartanburg County, SC

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:56:53 -0600

Decades of deindustrialization and subsequent job losses have taken a significant toll on the financial health of Spartanburg County, once a booming textile center and transportation hub in northwest South Carolina. The economic downturn has also affected the physical health of Spartanburg residents, 70 percent of whom are obese or overweight. Many suffer from multiple problems associated with their weight.

San Felipe Pueblo, NM

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:48:51 -0600

Nestled halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, 3,200 people live as a sovereign nation in the Pueblo of San Felipe (Katishtya). Theirs is a historic tribe, first recognized by the federal government in the mid-19th century but with traditions that date back more than 400 hundred years. Yet theirs is also a challenged community, as pertains to the health of their children and the resources available to help youth eat nutritious foods and be physically active.

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:33:36 -0600

Rancho Cucamonga originally was a small agricultural community of 50,000 tucked into Southern California’s San Bernardino County. Today, after several decades of rapid growth, it is an ethnically and racially diverse suburban community of 175,000. Vineyards and citrus groves have been replaced by sprawling housing and retail development, including an abundance of unhealthy food outlets.

These environmental changes have helped to create a perfect storm for obesity and related health problems, particularly in the southwest section of the city.

Omaha, NE

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:22:51 -0600

With more than 500,000 residents, Omaha easily claims the title of Nebraska’s largest city. During a growth spurt in the 1950s, its middle class left the older eastern end of the city for the developing suburbs to the west. A diverse, largely lower-income population filled the void. Today, this section of Omaha remains has a median household income that is about half that of households in the rest of the city and surrounding Douglas County.

New Orleans, LA

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:21:46 -0600

When Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury along the Gulf Coast in August 2005, Americans watched in horror as the levees protecting New Orleans gave way and devastating floodwaters rushed in. Hundreds of people died; entire neighborhoods were submerged. More than four years later, The Big Easy is still recovering—minus nearly 200,000 residents who evacuated and never returned.

Moore and Montgomery Counties, NC

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:18:14 -0600

The beauty of gentle pine-dotted hills hides an acute impoverishment through the southern midsection of North Carolina. In Moore and Montgomery counties, for example, one out of every five children ages 5 to 17 lives below the federal poverty level. An equal number also lives close to that edge.

For all too many young people here, their health reflects these rates. A project called Healthy Kids in the Carolinas will work in five communities in the largely rural region where overweight and obesity among elementary school students exceeds 50 percent at times.

Milledgeville, GA

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:15:39 -0600

From 1804 to 1868, Milledgeville proudly served as Georgia’s capital, and many remnants of that era, such as the Old Governor’s Mansion, can still be seen today. Far less grand, however, are some of the signs of modern times—a community divided by major state highways, rising unemployment and deteriorating neighborhoods.

Jefferson County, AL

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:08:50 -0600

Seven-year-old Sarah lives in East Lake, a small community several miles east of downtown Birmingham. Urban flight hit hard here, and the neighborhood, though making strides forward, is still beset by high rates of poverty, above-average unemployment and under-performing public schools.

Houghton County, MI

rosalie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:04:16 -0600

Houghton County sits at the tip of Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula, a rugged, sparsely populated forest region bordered on two sides by Lake Superior. People here are used to long, snowy winters. Since 1968, when Houghton’s last copper mines closed, they’ve also endured high rates of poverty and unemployment.