Fit City issue brief - Boston Society of Architects
Transcription
Fit City issue brief - Boston Society of Architects
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to the partners who made this event possible! Our Sponsors: The Fit City Boston Steering Committee: Boston Parks and Recreation Department Boston Public Health Commission Boston Redevelopment Authority Boston Transportation Department Boston Society of Landscape Architects Boston Society of Architects Enterprise Community Partners Harvard School of Public Health Metropolitan Area Planning Council Fit City Issue Brief Co-Author: Bradley Seeman FIT CITY ISSUE BRIEF FIT CITY BOSTON These health problems cannot be solved by public health or health care alone. We require solutions that are embedded in community design, social policies and resource distribution that affect the choices people have and make every day. Community design and development determines opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy and affordable food, healthy housing and clean air. Boston is home to many of the world’s leading health institutions. We have a revitalized harbor and world-class parks system. Under the leadership of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the city has made great strides to promote health and health equity. Yet there is an urgent need to take Across the United States, preventable chronic health conditions – further action. obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and asthma – have great and growing human and economic costs. Communities of color and vulner- On May 6, 2013, more than 150 community leaders including planners, able populations are disproportionately affected. Even in Boston, one of architects, developers, public officials, academics and residents met at the healthiest cities in America, more than half of adult residents are obese the first Fit City Boston Summit. The event was modeled after AIA New or overweight; in some low-income neighborhoods of color, that burden is York’s Fit City conferences, held annually since 2006, which have helped closer to two-thirds. For asthma, the hospitalization rate for Black children spur cross-sector collaboration and promote active design and public under the age of 5 is four times that of White children. health in that city. FIT CITY BOSTON These health problems cannot be solved by public health or health care alone. We require solutions that are embedded in community design, social policies and resource distribution that affect the choices people have and make every day. Community design and development determines opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy and affordable food, healthy housing and clean air. Boston is home to many of the world’s leading health institutions. We have a revitalized harbor and world-class parks system. Under the leadership of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the city has made great strides to promote health and health equity. Yet there is an urgent need to take Across the United States, preventable chronic health conditions – further action. obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and asthma – have great and growing human and economic costs. Communities of color and vulner- On May 6, 2013, more than 150 community leaders including planners, able populations are disproportionately affected. Even in Boston, one of architects, developers, public officials, academics and residents met at the healthiest cities in America, more than half of adult residents are obese the first Fit City Boston Summit. The event was modeled after AIA New or overweight; in some low-income neighborhoods of color, that burden is York’s Fit City conferences, held annually since 2006, which have helped closer to two-thirds. For asthma, the hospitalization rate for Black children spur cross-sector collaboration and promote active design and public under the age of 5 is four times that of White children. health in that city. Fit City Boston aims to build on the best examples of work already WORKPLACES Is sitting the new smoking? Many Americans sit more than nine hours a underway to improve the Boston’s built environment and the health of its day in their workplace and schools- residents. Boston summit participants looked at how the built environ- more than they sleep. The answer isn't ment affects our health and showcased promising ideas and strategies to necessarily for everyone to go to the gym, but to think more about how we transform Boston into the healthiest city in America. Mike Davis, President move throughout the day. How will we of the Boston Society of Architects, reminded participants that many reinvent the places we work and learn “twenty-first century diseases are partially a result of the urban lifestyle that we live – and to a certain extent can be mitigated through design.” to contribute to health and wellbeing? Robin Guenther, Principal at the architecture firm Perkins+Will, As Dr. John D. Spengler, Director of the Center for Health and the Global challenged participants to consider new elements in the workplace: treadmills Environment at Harvard School of Public Health urged participants in his in breakout spaces, standing desks, keynote address; the goal should be “setting an agenda for the future “walk-and-talk” conference calls which includes flourishing places and flourishing people.” (walking on the treadmill while talking). Such changes are low-cost and can be done by employers of any size. In that spirit, this Fit City Issue Brief shares some of those promising ideas and strategies. They are the seeds which we hope will germinate into Other solutions are larger in scale. The New York Police Academy is an 800,000 a broad vision and strong action – by taking best practices to scale and square foot facility that incorporates an institutionalizing proven and powerful ideas that to make Boston a truly eight-story open staircase, so that healthy city for all its residents. police trainees are running up and down multiple flights of stairs to move between classes. Fit City Boston aimes to build on the best examples of work already WORKPLACES Is sitting the new smoking? Many Americans sit more than nine hours a underway to improve the Boston’s built environment and the health of its day in their workplace and schools- residents. Boston summit participants looked at how the built environ- more than they sleep. The answer isn't ment affects our health and showcased promising ideas and strategies to necessarily for everyone to go to the gym, but to think more about how we transform Boston into the healthiest city in America. Mike Davis, President move throughout the day. How will we of the Boston Society of Architects, reminded participants that many reinvent the places we work and learn “twenty-first century diseases are partially a result of the urban lifestyle that we live – and to a certain extent can be mitigated through design.” to contribute to health and wellbeing? Robin Guenther, Principal at the architecture firm Perkins+Will, As Dr. John D. Spengler, Director of the Center for Health and the Global challenged participants to consider new elements in the workplace: treadmills Environment at Harvard School of Public Health urged participants in his in breakout spaces, standing desks, keynote address; the goal should be “setting an agenda for the future “walk-and-talk” conference calls which includes flourishing places and flourishing people.” (walking on the treadmill while talking). Such changes are low-cost and can be done by employers of any size. In that spirit, this Fit City Issue Brief shares some of those promising ideas and strategies. They are the seeds which we hope will germinate into Other solutions are larger in scale. The New York Police Academy is an 800,000 a broad vision and strong action – by taking best practices to scale and square foot facility that incorporates an institutionalizing proven and powerful ideas that to make Boston a truly eight-story open staircase, so that healthy city for all its residents. police trainees are running up and down multiple flights of stairs to move between classes. It's completely connected with pedestrian pathways and exterior SCHOOLS stairs, so they run the stairs in the Children spend a great deal of their snow and ice, and keep active! time in school, but Boston’s public schools face challenges in promoting Wouldn’t it be great to bring such their health and fitness. Many schools elements to other settings? A key don’t have gyms; even in schools that element of improved workplace do, students may only have structured health will be a shift in corporate physical education (PE) once or twice mindset toward health outcomes. a week. Laura Wernick, past President of the Boston Society of Architects, Several examples of companies and a principal at HMFH Architects, that are tackling workplace health where she designs schools, discussed issues were discussed at the with summit participants the impor- summit, including Novartis, which tance of getting kids moving during is expanding its operation in the school day. Sometimes this Cambridge, and whose Be Healthy happens during PE or recess, but there program provides health screen- are other ways for movement to be ings in the workplace, healthy integrated into the school day and cuisine in the cafeteria and more through building design: for example, opportunities for movement by providing a variety of spaces within during the work day. schools for socializing, independent Another theme was linking corporate efforts for healthier workplaces to the larger work, performance, group projects community – “connecting the office to the street,” as one summit participant put it, and other functions, and by getting by using parking lots, parks and other public spaces to promote the health of both kids moving between these spaces. employees and residents, such as open Tai Chi classes or other physical activities. It's completely connected with pedestrian pathways and exterior SCHOOLS stairs, so they run the stairs in the Children spend a great deal of their snow and ice, and keep active! time in school, but Boston’s public schools face challenges in promoting Wouldn’t it be great to bring such their health and fitness. Many schools elements to other settings? A key don’t have gyms; even in schools that element of improved workplace do, students may only have structured health will be a shift in corporate physical education (PE) once or twice mindset toward health outcomes. a week. Laura Wernick, past President of the Boston Society of Architects, Several examples of companies and a principal at HMFH Architects, that are tackling workplace health where she designs schools, discussed issues were discussed at the with summit participants the impor- summit, including Novartis, which tance of getting kids moving during is expanding its operation in the school day. Sometimes this Cambridge, and whose Be Healthy happens during PE or recess, but there program provides health screen- are other ways for movement to be ings in the workplace, healthy integrated into the school day and cuisine in the cafeteria and more through building design: for example, opportunities for movement by providing a variety of spaces within during the work day. schools for socializing, independent Another theme was linking corporate efforts for healthier workplaces to the larger work, performance, group projects community – “connecting the office to the street,” as one summit participant put it, and other functions, and by getting by using parking lots, parks and other public spaces to promote the health of both kids moving between these spaces. employees and residents, such as open Tai Chi classes or other physical activities. Summit participants talked about opportunities for Boston Public Schools to help How would that change the quality of our lives? How would that change how students be healthier. One is the capital planning process, which governs hundreds of healthy we are? And how would it make it easier for us to stay healthy?” millions of dollars in school expenditures. The planning is just getting started, so how can The Dance Court is just one example of how we can diversify the opportunities for we help assure that the values of health, fitness and sustainability are part of it? In the movement and recreation in our urban environment. Jhana Senxian, Founder and same way that students would benefit from moving more during the school day, they Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Guild International, described the goal of her could also benefit from the opportunity to walk or bike to school. As schools are being organization as “bringing residents out of their homes into public space in the inner renovated or new ones planned, it is important to look at the half-mile radius around the city.” She discussed their work on Blue Hill Avenue, and the importance of taking schools to develop safe walking and biking routes for students. urban corridors that may have a negative image and helping them to be revalued, to become visible again as places that people care about and enjoy. On Blue Hill There might also be an opportunity to involve students themselves in conducting these Avenue, Sustainability Guild is working with community volunteers to clear out trash, safe routes assessments, helping them learn how to be advocates for their own health paint murals, make gardens, add new low-cost design elements and fill once empty and the health of their communities. spaces with activity. Explained Senxian, “Then people start to say, ‘This is a beautiful space in my neighborhood I didn't even know was there.’” OPEN SPACES There are more ways to think about open spaces in the city than simply parks with fountains, statues, trees and benches. “Basketball courts and tennis courts are fairly normal in our everyday lives,” Kenneth Bailey of the Design Studio for Social Intervention told Fit City participants, “but what would it be like if you could find dance courts all over the city, the same way you could find tennis courts and basketball courts? Summit participants talked about opportunities for Boston Public Schools to help How would that change the quality of our lives? How would that change how students be healthier. One is the capital planning process, which governs hundreds of healthy we are? And how would it make it easier for us to stay healthy?” millions of dollars in school expenditures. The planning is just getting started, so how can The Dance Court is just one example of how we can diversify the opportunities for we help assure that the values of health, fitness and sustainability are part of it? In the movement and recreation in our urban environment. Jhana Senxian, Founder and same way that students would benefit from moving more during the school day, they Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Guild International, described the goal of her could also benefit from the opportunity to walk or bike to school. As schools are being organization as “bringing residents out of their homes into public space in the inner renovated or new ones planned, it is important to look at the half-mile radius around the city.” She discussed their work on Blue Hill Avenue, and the importance of taking schools to develop safe walking and biking routes for students. urban corridors that may have a negative image and helping them to be revalued, to become visible again as places that people care about and enjoy. On Blue Hill There might also be an opportunity to involve students themselves in conducting these Avenue, Sustainability Guild is working with community volunteers to clear out trash, safe routes assessments, helping them learn how to be advocates for their own health paint murals, make gardens, add new low-cost design elements and fill once empty and the health of their communities. spaces with activity. Explained Senxian, “Then people start to say, ‘This is a beautiful space in my neighborhood I didn't even know was there.’” OPEN SPACES There are more ways to think about open spaces in the city than simply parks with fountains, statues, trees and benches. “Basketball courts and tennis courts are fairly normal in our everyday lives,” Kenneth Bailey of the Design Studio for Social Intervention told Fit City participants, “but what would it be like if you could find dance courts all over the city, the same way you could find tennis courts and basketball courts? TRANSPORTATION “Boston is a walking city, and this is not an accident,” Vineet Gupta, Director of Policy and Planning at the Boston Transportation Department, reminded summit participants. Architects and planners have helped create great spaces for walking and outdoor Cycling has received a tremendous boost from the city’s successful Hubway, a bike share system, that is part of a larger effort to make the city and region more bikefriendly. It recently topped one million trips and has expanded into Brookline, Cammbridge and Somerville. And in its second year, the Circle the City initiative, which has so far come to Huntington Avenue and Blue Hill Avenue and will visit other Boston neighborhoods, closes streets to cars for a day and opens them to people for biking, walking, pushing a stroller, walking a dog and a host of other active uses. It gives communities a vision of how active and healthy our streets could be. activity, from Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace to the new Rose Kennedy Greenway and the growing Harbor Walk. One of the most powerful planning ideas for healthy streets and public spaces is Complete Streets. “The car is no longer Parking is also a critical element in healthy transportation. Parking a car is one of those things we only think about when we can’t find a space. How our parking regulations are set up greatly affect our physical and emotional health. Parking policies not only affect how we get to a location – perhaps not driving at all! – but also how far we will walk to our destination from a parking space. king in Boston,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino in 2009, announcing Boston’s Complete Streets approach, which puts pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users on equal footing with motor-vehicle drivers. The initiative aims to improve the quality of life in Boston by creating streets that are both great public spaces and sustainable transportation networks. Mark Chase from Tufts University shared with summit participants how parking policies affect physical activity and how parking solutions can be catalysts for active living and good urban design. One simple, but potentially powerful, idea is the link between how expensive a parking space is and how far it is from their destination. A much cheaper space farther away – say, $6 parking instead of $30 parking – will encourage people to save money and to walk from that lower-cost space to work, school or wherever they are going. In this way, pricing can motivate healthier behavior. And if you encourage the use of more distant parking, you don't need to build more parking spaces in the urban core. Signs and smart phone apps (such as BestParking.com) could help direct drivers to these cheaper and “healthier” parking spaces. TRANSPORTATION “Boston is a walking city, and this is not an accident,” Vineet Gupta, Director of Policy and Planning at the Boston Transportation Department, reminded summit participants. Architects and planners have helped create great spaces for walking and outdoor Cycling has received a tremendous boost from the city’s successful Hubway, a bike share system, that is part of a larger effort to make the city and region more bikefriendly. It recently topped one million trips and has expanded into Brookline, Cammbridge and Somerville. And in its second year, the Circle the City initiative, which has so far come to Huntington Avenue and Blue Hill Avenue and will visit other Boston neighborhoods, closes streets to cars for a day and opens them to people for biking, walking, pushing a stroller, walking a dog and a host of other active uses. It gives communities a vision of how active and healthy our streets could be. activity, from Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace to the new Rose Kennedy Greenway and the growing Harbor Walk. One of the most powerful planning ideas for healthy streets and public spaces is Complete Streets. “The car is no longer Parking is also a critical element in healthy transportation. Parking a car is one of those things we only think about when we can’t find a space. How our parking regulations are set up greatly affect our physical and emotional health. Parking policies not only affect how we get to a location – perhaps not driving at all! – but also how far we will walk to our destination from a parking space. king in Boston,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino in 2009, announcing Boston’s Complete Streets approach, which puts pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users on equal footing with motor-vehicle drivers. The initiative aims to improve the quality of life in Boston by creating streets that are both great public spaces and sustainable transportation networks. Mark Chase from Tufts University shared with summit participants how parking policies affect physical activity and how parking solutions can be catalysts for active living and good urban design. One simple, but potentially powerful, idea is the link between how expensive a parking space is and how far it is from their destination. A much cheaper space farther away – say, $6 parking instead of $30 parking – will encourage people to save money and to walk from that lower-cost space to work, school or wherever they are going. In this way, pricing can motivate healthier behavior. And if you encourage the use of more distant parking, you don't need to build more parking spaces in the urban core. Signs and smart phone apps (such as BestParking.com) could help direct drivers to these cheaper and “healthier” parking spaces. MEASURES OPEN SPACES HEALTH EQUIT Y When you look at Boston’s chronic disease rates by neighborhood, it becomes clear how “Not everything that counts can be profoundly the built environment has shaped the inequities that we see in health counted,” Albert Einstein once said, “and outcomes throughout the city. Obesity rates for Boston overall are lower than the not everything that can be counted national average. However, in some neighborhoods, they are two to three times higher counts.” Measurement is what lets us know than the city as a whole. how we’re doing – whether we need to do better, and if we’ve done better. As Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, told summit participants, the changes in built environment needed to address these health Measuring movement is not such an inequities “cannot just happen in the public sector, nor just happen with public sector obvious thing. How much exercise do you resources.” She stated that while major changes in government policy are important, get from walking a mile? Or taking the efforts also have to include “the littler policies that guide the way people make invest- stairs? Or dancing? Understanding the ments, the way people build in the city of Boston, the way people create an apartment effects of physical activity requires a complex or a new business enterprise.” consideration of how long, how far and how fast. Anne Lusk of the Harvard School of Public Health helped Fit City Summit participants understand the concept of Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET), a promising new way of measuring physical activity that can help us assess the usefulness of an activity and determine our activity levels. A MET is essentially the amount of energy a person consumes while being active. Sitting might be 1 MET, slow walking 2.3 METs, going down the stairs 3 METs, going up the stairs 8 METs, and so on. It helps us quantify the big difference between slow walking and brisk walking, and the value of vigorous activity, even if we don’t do it for very long. MEASURES OPEN SPACES HEALTH EQUIT Y When you look at Boston’s chronic disease rates by neighborhood, it becomes clear how “Not everything that counts can be profoundly the built environment has shaped the inequities that we see in health counted,” Albert Einstein once said, “and outcomes throughout the city. Obesity rates for Boston overall are lower than the not everything that can be counted national average. However, in some neighborhoods, they are two to three times higher counts.” Measurement is what lets us know than the city as a whole. how we’re doing – whether we need to do better, and if we’ve done better. As Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, told summit participants, the changes in built environment needed to address these health Measuring movement is not such an inequities “cannot just happen in the public sector, nor just happen with public sector obvious thing. How much exercise do you resources.” She stated that while major changes in government policy are important, get from walking a mile? Or taking the efforts also have to include “the littler policies that guide the way people make invest- stairs? Or dancing? Understanding the ments, the way people build in the city of Boston, the way people create an apartment effects of physical activity requires a complex or a new business enterprise.” consideration of how long, how far and how fast. Anne Lusk of the Harvard School of Public Health helped Fit City Summit participants understand the concept of Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET), a promising new way of measuring physical activity that can help us assess the usefulness of an activity and determine our activity levels. A MET is essentially the amount of energy a person consumes while being active. Sitting might be 1 MET, slow walking 2.3 METs, going down the stairs 3 METs, going up the stairs 8 METs, and so on. It helps us quantify the big difference between slow walking and brisk walking, and the value of vigorous activity, even if we don’t do it for very long. Among the ideas discussed at the SPEAKERS summit to address the link between the built environment and health equity Kenneth Bailey, Sector Organizing and Strategy Lead, Design Studio for Social Intervention were stronger partnerships between government and advocacy groups on Allison Bauer, Program Director, Health and Wellness, The Boston Foundation development issues; a health innova- Mark Chase, Parking and Transportation Demand Management Consultant, Nelson Nygaard Consulting Associates and Lecturer, Tufts University tion fund to support community-driven projects reflecting neighborhood concerns and needs; and more work to John Dalzell, Senior Architect, Boston Redevelopment Authority develop and share ideas about health Mike Davis, President, Boston Society of Architects impact assessments, which can help Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director, Boston Public Health Commission communities make informed choices about improving public health through Valerie Fletcher, Executive Director, Institute for Human Centered Design community design. Robin Guenther, FAIA, Principal, Perkins+Will Vineet Gupta, Director of Policy and Planning, Boston Transportation Department Valerie Fletcher, Director of the Institute Ann Lusk, PhD, Research Scientist, Harvard School of Public Health for Human Centered Design, emphasized the importance of universal Jessica Parsons, Circle The City Project Manager, Emerald Necklace Conservancy design elements that can make the city Monte Roulier, President, Community Initiatives more accessible for all kinds of people – people with disabilities, older people, As our cities invite and have more immi- and families with children. Kairos Shen, grants from different cultures, we have to Director of Planning at the Boston understand the physical environment, our Redevelopment Authority, also empha- streets, our open spaces have to be sized the importance of equity and accessible not just physically, but cultur- accessibility in the broadest possible ally and generationally.” sense. “ Jhana Senxian, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Guild International Kairos Shen, Chief Planner, Boston Redevelopment Authority Dr. John D. Spengler, Professor, Department of Environmental Health Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard School of Public Health Laura Wernick, AIA, Senior Principal, HMFH Architects Kenneth Bailey, Sector Organizing and Strategy Lead, Design Studio for Social Intervention Allison Bauer, Program Director, Health and Wellness, The Boston Foundation Mark Chase, Parking and Transportation Demand Management Consultant, Nelson Nygaard Consulting Associates and Lecturer, Tufts University John Dalzell, AIA, Senior Architect, Boston Redevelopment Authority Mike Davis, FAIA, President, Boston Society of Architects Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director, Boston Public Health Commission Valerie Fletcher, Executive Director, Institute for Human Centered Design Robin Guenther, FAIA, Principal, Perkins+Will Vineet Gupta, Director of Policy and Planning, Boston Transportation Department Ann Lusk, PhD, Research Scientist, Harvard School of Public Health Jessica Parsons, Circle The City Project Manager, Emerald Necklace Conservancy Monte Roulier, President, Community Initiatives Jhana Senxian, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Guild International Kairos Shen, Chief Planner, Boston Redevelopment Authority Dr. John D. Spengler, Professor, Department of Environmental Health Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard School of Public Health Laura Wernick, AIA, Senior Principal, HMFH Architects ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to the partners who made this event possible! Our Sponsors: The Fit City Boston Steering Committee: Boston Parks and Recreation Department Boston Public Health Commission Boston Redevelopment Authority Boston Transportation Department Boston Society of Landscape Architects Boston Society of Architects Enterprise Community Partners Harvard School of Public Health Metropolitan Area Planning Council Fit City Issue Brief Co-Author: Bradley Seeman FIT CITY ISSUE BRIEF