What Is The Paradoxical Relationship Between The Health Benefits Of Safe Cycling Infrastructure?

When a neighborhood is gentrified it will not only change the image of it, but also the services available there (Al-Kodmany 2011, 62-63). In other words, gentrification does not only have an impact on the physical aspect of the land, but also the resources that lie there. During the 90s, the Near West Side neighborhood located near Loop, an up-scale neighborhood, sought drastic changes within the area. The changes in racial demographics in the Near West Side indicated that the health risks that affected minorities dropped in the past decade (1992-2002) (Al-Kodmany 2011,

Gentrification has disadvantages on housing but may lead to healthier outcomes for the residents. The Department of Health surveyed the community’s smoking, diet and physical activity, which are risks factors for a variety of health problems like high blood pressure. It was concluded that Washington Heights had 12% smokers, which is lower than New York’s average. However, 31% of community members consume multiple drinks with high sugar content on a daily basis and are less likely to perform physical activity. The rate of stroke hospitalization, is higher in Washington Heights than City rates. Healthcare providers as well as the system needs to target these trends as well as making health care more access to the community. The Affordable Health

Many communities a part of metro Atlanta are against the expansion of public transportation since they believe that crime rates increase in their communities. There is also a distorted economic view associated with the main public transportation service. Many natives in Atlanta connect poverty with public transportation, resulting in a higher amount of people choosing to buy and rental vehicles or ride taxis instead of riding Marta. An additional hindrance of the progression of public transportation is gerrymandering, manipulating boundaries in order maintain desired

However through urban planning and development, solutions can be discovered and put into action to allow easier flow into urbanism. Transportation issues for example can be resolved by planning for the future of Los Angeles and by investing in the public transportation system. An example of this would be investing in bike paths, lanes, and routes so that people with low income, such as Hispanic immigrants, can travel to their locations in an easier manner through biking. An investment “to fill in gaps and complete the citywide bike plan” for this method of transportation “calls for nearly 1,700 miles of new and upgraded paths and lanes before 2035,” which can seem difficult but possible (Laura J. Nelson). Biking as a new main method of transportation “can help reduce crashes of all types and assist in reaching an ambitious new city goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2025” (Laura J. Nelson). A solution to gentrification through urban planning is to instead focus on a new method of development called Asset Based Community Development. Through this different urban revitalization process, an inside out approach is taken where development occurs by focusing on the communities’ assets and building upon them, unlike gentrification. When the community is dedicated and determined to rebuild their torn down neighborhoods, it is possible to bring new life to the neighborhood by focusing on assets such

It is never easy to do good for the society. It comes with many complications. Money, effort, oppositions. It is never easy and especially to do it in New york city, the centre of all economic opportunities, just makes it even more difficult. It all started in 2006, under the leadership of former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, when “the city planning department conducted a survey of city bicycle commuters and recreational cyclists in 2006”( Lyon 4) to see the feasibility of NYC city bike share program. The main intention or rather the main motive for introducing a bike share program was to “maximise efficiency of existing mass

During my interview, Dr. Owens let me know that the U.S. Census Bureau stopped collecting data on income, and referred me to the American Community survey. Furthermore, she gave me feedback on my index for gentrification, and made the suggestion to exclude race and ethnicity since affluent racial minorities can contribute to gentrification. By specifying the factors investigating and listing my assumptions, I give the a general idea of why I think that these factors are important to the operationalization of gentrification, and support my choices with what has been done in past studies. In the discussion section, I reason why this study is significant and how it could lead to subsequent policy changes. By outlining ways in which different audiences can benefit from this study, I show that in addition to extending the existing research, my study has the potential to make societal impacts across various fields. If this proposal were to become a dissertation, this section would be more extensive and would draw upon the results found after collecting all the

Today we have a much greater understanding than any time before on what if affecting our health that has led to an alarming rate of chronic conditions, including heart disease, obesity, asthma, depression, and diabetes. These are directly linked to poor diet, lack of exercise, and land-use patterns, including access to transportation, urban design, and housing characteristics that can make an impact on people’s ability to participate in physical activity. The land-use pattern that has plagued the United States and Florida since the end of World War II has been suburban sprawl that has led to auto-dependence, air pollution, and a much higher risk of respiratory disease. However, we have the ability to combat these tragedies by shaping

In addition, gentrification has several ways of being creeping into our neighborhood but at the end the outcomes have been quite similar. Our society has always viewed neighborhoods were minorities live in as being the ghettos, slums, or ‘hoods of America. When many of us come across an urbanized area we generally assume violence, drug trafficking, and overall social pathologies strive these places. Once we hear these “ghetto’s” are under going gentrification, we have a sense of relief and we feel there is hope for these communities. Gentrification may seem a blessing to an urban community by many, but if it were to be closely examine it we would find out it isn’t. Although the process has solved many economic issues within cities by providing employment opportunities, increases in property tax revenues and has diminished violence, the aftermath is far worse. (Freeman) Gentrification has increased the

To conclude, Transportation Alternatives and Harm Reduction improve health through different methods but there are still some similarities between them. Both organizations are community organizations in that Transportation Alternatives serves the community of pedestrians and cyclists and Harm Reduction Coalition serves the community of drug users. Both organizations address social inequality by fighting for reforms for their vulnerable populations who have limited voice. Lastly, both Transportation Alternatives and Harm Reduction use

The convenience of living in an urban or suburban neighborhood can be appealing to many people. Choosing between areas can sometimes be overwhelming for some individual. People are not only concerned about the safety of a community, but they are also concerned about the environment. Although some neighborhoods might look attractive, people should consider the expense that comes with it, and how commuting will affect them in the long run. Nevertheless, both neighborhoods have their specific advantages and disadvantages. When choosing between an urban or suburban neighborhood, it is important for people to research the community, the expense, and convenience

Many lower income neighborhoods have areas that lack sidewalks, proper street lighting, clearly marked crosswalks, and have limited “traffic calming” features (APHA, 2015, p. 2). These unsafe street conditions create barriers, and limit public access to much needed resources, such as, schools, work, healthy food resources, and health services. Individuals residing in lower income communities experience higher rates of illnesses, such as, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Moreover, of a greater concern, is the mortality and injury rates of

An, R., Yang, Y., & Li, K. (2017). Residential neighborhood amenities and physical activity among U.S. children with special health care needs. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 21(5), 1026-1036.

Upon analyzing the entirety of the data I collected over 3 days. I was originally surprised by my findings. Initially, I hypothesized that all of the “red” living spaces located near Philadelphia’s most congested

Since the early 2000s, gentrification accelerated in various New York City neighborhoods. Data shown that about 29.8 percent of New York City has been affected by gentrification in low-income communities (Governing Data 1). This is over a 20 percent increased from the previous decade in New York City alone. Gentrification is a term used to describe displacement or renewal in urban neighborhoods as a result of increasing property values and rent prices. Gentrification has existed since the 1960s but has rapidly increased since then . Gentrification has now become a common and global controversial topic in many low-income neighborhood. Although, gentrification hasn’t always been bad from increasing job opportunities to lowering crime rates. Gentrification has impacted and transformed underprivileged districts in New York City. However, at the advantage of who ? Thus, gentrification has only increased average rates of poverty and infused neighborhoods with “white privilege”.

One of the main factors for a neighborhood to be effective and successful is to have a well-planned transportation system that would let people move from one place to another not only using automobile vehicles, but also through walking. However, nowadays, with the increased interests of architects and planners on enlarging the roads and fighting traffic problems in cities, walkable environments are being ignored threatening the pedestrian experience in streets and sidewalks. But not all pedestrians can manage to overcome the challenges of the bad street experience. People on wheel chair, kids and older adults are another type of pedestrians that are being forced to stay home and drop out of the social life for they are considered to be the weak and dependent kind of people. Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, is one of the Lebanese cities that are facing a significant decline in pedestrian access due to the lack of walkability in its infrastructure. Its streets are losing their engaging and comfortable spaces, and are becoming a simple reflection of cars, noise and pollution, with no public life. With the recognition of the health benefits of walking, the case for creating better walking environments has to be stronger and should become an important factor in the design of transportation systems. So what are the different problems that discourage dependent people from walking in Beirut? How can lack of walkability decline the health of older adults? And to what extent can