Because of its sheer density, it’s not surprising New York City is leading the U.S. with investing in a walkable built environment, with its streets to plazas program, car-free Times Square, comprehensive bike sharing plan, and its Ciclovia-inspired Summer Streets.

In response to the obesity trends illustrated below, it was just a matter of time before they introduced a plan to invest in an infrastructure that prioritizes public health, especially through being physically active. Produced by

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In case any public or private institution asks just what’s so great about walking and transit when it comes to your health, here’s a number of hard hitting facts visually communicated. These graphics can be found in the very readable 25-page Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits report published by the American Public Transportation Association.

Daily Walking Trips And Transit Travel (above) - It doesn’t matter what your income is, if you don’t use transit, you’re hardly walking,

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How you set a healthy standard for an entire town? How about crowdsourcing an entire town meal from food grown right in the neighborhood?

On September 26, 2009, the town of Middlesbrough, England did just that at their Town Meal festival, where 8000 people enjoyed a meal made from fruits and vegetables grown by 1000 of the town’s residents. The primary purpose? To provide awareness of food miles and improve the health of the town’s residents as part of its Healthy Town campaign. It’s not just

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In fact, according to a study covered in Time’s Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin, exercise may not be as important as being in an environment where you’re constantly moving.  As the article states, “Many obesity researchers now believe that very frequent, low-level physical activity - the kind humans did for tens of thousands of years before the leaf blower was invented - may actually work better for us than the occasional bouts of exercise you get as a gym rat.  It would be better to

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People who live in cities are healthier, say researchers from San Diego State University. Why?  Some of the conclusions:

- Cities offer easier, more convenient access to sidewalks where people naturally walk or jog, especially for exercise of at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity five days a week.
- People in cities often walk to stores or transportation stops (ie amenities).
- City residents have more access to low-cost recreation opportunities (ie amenities).
- They ride

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If self assessment of your own body, fitness, energy, and overall well-being matters, then Burlington, Vermont is the healthiest city in the U.S.. This is according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, mentioned in news sources throughout the country, from CNN to the Associated Press. However, other sources claim Lincoln, Nebraska takes the top spot, though if you look at the map below, Burlington makes sense. Boulder, Colorado is also up there.

Burlington and

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One way to understand the health benefits of community and human interaction is to look at the health risks of isolation. Isolation defined here is not the same as solitude where people live on their own and prefer seeing few friends contently, but rather when they feel they are cut off from people and don’t easily have someone to turn to.

A 1987 report in Science stated, “Isolation is as significant to mortality rates as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and lack of

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How does the planning of neighborhoods and cities affect your health?  Thanks to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), that’s answered in the first report that comprehensively summarizes the impact of the built environment on public health, and how changes can be implemented.

The study, the LEED-ND Report on Public Health & the Built Environment, measure five areas of health:

- Respiratory and

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Many of us wish we could live our yoga.  The founders of Sage Spa Living felt the same way, and invested in bringing it closer to reality with Stillwater, an urban residence in Helena, Montana.  From their press release, “The founders have the simple vision of changing the world, one guest at a time by inspiring personal health and promoting community stewardship.

While it does cater to the high-end, it provides a progressive model for integrating health with architecture and daily living

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From the late 1800s to early 1900s our public health was largely linked to our built environment.  People were dying from communicable and waterborne diseases tied to overcrowding, poor sanitation and polluted air.  As a result, cities began to feature more open spaces, advanced public works and cleaner transit options - a public health model.

In the mid to late 1900s, we shifted to what is known as the ‘medical model’ approach to public health, with a focus on doctors treating specific

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