Active Living Planning
Active living contributes to individual physical and mental health but also to social cohesion and community well-being. Opportunities for being physically active are not limited to sports and organized recreation. They exist everywhere – where people live and work, in neighborhoods and in educational and health establishments.
The way we build our cities, design the urban environment and provide access to the natural environment can be a great encouragement or a great barrier to physical activity and active living. Sycamore works with local governments to address the needs and contributions of all citizens in different settings of everyday life. By so doing, we are helping to ensure equity and comprehensiveness in promoting physical activity and active living.
City of Decatur Community Transportation Plan
Sycamore Consulting worked closely with City of Decatur, Georgia, staff, officials, and public citizens, including school officials, to develop a transportation plan to create and maintain an Active Living Community with increased opportunities for exercise and recreation. We provided project management leading the team in all technical and public involvement tasks, including the development of an inventory of existing conditions, level of service and latent demand analyses, public outreach events, and development of recommendations. A broad and inclusive public involvement program complemented the technical analyses and included open houses, small group meetings, and topical workshops. Among them: a team of diabetes doctors spoke at a community event for elementary school kids to encourage the children to make regular physical activity part of their daily lives. A statistically valid phone survey was administered to confirm the priorities of the public. A Rapid Health Impact Assessment was also conducted with local health officials to assess the health effects of the recommendations and ensure compatibility with Active Living concepts. Additionally, the team prepared a quality growth audit that examined existing City policies such as development regulations, zoning and others, and identified obstacles or inconsistencies in achieving quality growth and an Active Living Community, a marketing and education campaign, a toolkit of traffic calming techniques, a downtown Decatur parking study and a review of the City’s proposed bicycle parking ordinance.
The Decatur CTP was a 2007 recipient of an Atlanta Regional Commission’s Create Community Award for Transportation. In addition, Transportation Enhancement funds have been awarded for two intersection redesigns recommended by the plan.
DeKalb Board of Health Clarkston Community Active Living Plan
Sycamore, in conjunction with the Board of Health of DeKalb County and Clarkston, GA community leaders, developed an active living plan that includes the City of Clarkston and surrounding census tracts. The city is noted for its diversity. In the 1990s refugee resettlement programs identified Clarkston as a good fit for displaced persons of many different backgrounds. The rental market was open, residents were moving farther out from the Atlanta urban core, and Clarkston was the last stop on a transit line into the city. By the 2000s the local high school had students from more than 50 countries; a local mosque had 800 worshippers; and by some estimates, half the population was from outside the U.S. Clarkston is home to the New York Times‘ featured soccer team, the Fugees. Additionally, Clarkston is home to two colleges.
Sycamore identified key stakeholders to form an Active Living Steering Committee, which helped to establish goals, identify implementation parnters, review recommendations for the built environment and local policies, and establish implementation priorities. The Sterring Committee also played a significant role in reaching out to and gathering input from the greater Clarkston community.
Sycamore assessed community conditions via surveys, U.S. Census data, and walkability and bikeability assessment results. Information gthered from existing reports and plans were reviewed to help clarify issues and needs. Sycamore then developed recommendations for the built environemnt, sustainability and policy changes, employer incentives, and a directory of youth and adult active living activities in the community.
Belvedere-Line Street Active Living Plan
The DeKalb County, GA, Board of Health employed Sycamore to develop a plan to encourage active living in the Belvedere-Line Street neighborhood of south DeKalb County. Active living aims to replace automobile trips with human-powered trips, e.g. walking and bicycling. This was particularly timely in this community, which had been experiencing increasing housing, commercial and recreational development. Much of this development is within walking or biking distance of the community, but walking or biking to these places is neither safe nor convenient.
The planning process called for residents to identify opportunities to improve connections between their homes and destinations. Sycamore established a planning committee composed of representatives from the neighborhood, the neighborhood coalitions, and other entities, which confirmed data findings and assisted in the planning of community workshops. The community at large was invited to participate in interactive outreach opportunities including a workshop, community survey, and input sessions in conjunction with the school PTA to share their insights into how to eliminate impediments to walking and biking (such as busy roads, poorly lit streets, inconsistent sidewalks) and to develop infrastructure to support and encourage active living.