The healthy city: good design, beauty and throw in some fun.
The actual physical fabric of the city could make you healthy. How wide sidewalks are, is there street furniture, do you have parks with nature, community gardens and interesting places all have an effect on our health. There is a growing body of knowledge that is making a connection between a city’s infrastructure and health. The most obvious example is bike lanes. By increasing safe bike lanes cities will increase the amount of people who will cycle. Riding bikes and living physical active lives helps prevent a host of chronic diseases. But there is a whole range of things that cities could be doing to make its residents healthier.
I think great public space is something that is often over looked as a factor in health. Great public spaces from interesting material for the sidewalks and pocket parks really invites folks to walk. Having street furniture and poster kiosks also encourages people to linger and make social connections and this all good and promotes health. Good design and beauty could be key components of health.
The City is seeking ideas for making Vancouver healthier for everyone. The city is launching a number of engagement tools to gather ideas including a series of “ideas labs” to “brainstorm” input to inform its The Healthy City Strategy.
The idea labs will be held on the following dates:
Monday, May 5, 2014 from 6:30 – 9pm at Trout Lake Community Centre, 3360 Victoria Drive
Saturday, May 10, 2014 from 1 – 3:30 pm at Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 West Georgia Street
Thursday, May 15, 2014 from 6:30 – 9 pm at Ryerson United Church, 2195 West 45th Avenue
To learn more about the Health City Strategy select here