cover image: Local Policies for Children's Health and Success

20.500.12592/2gphto6

Local Policies for Children's Health and Success

12 Sep 2024

This analysis indicates that children tend to be healthier and more successful growing up in compact neighborhoods where residents frequently walk and bicycle, drive less at lower speeds, have affordable housing and travel options, are integrated by income and background, and have sufficient parks and greenspace. [...] A growing body of research indicates that children tend to be healthier and more successful if their families live in compact, multimodal neighborhoods where residents frequently walk and bicycle, drive less at lower speeds, have affordable housing and travel options, are integrated by income and background, and have sufficient parks and greenspace. [...] For example, a street designed to maximize traffic speeds is less walkable and bikeable than one designed to maximize multimodal travel and safety, and a neighborhood designed for single-family housing is less affordable and accessible, and therefore less diverse and inclusive, than if more compact housing types are allowed. [...] Active travel tends to increase in communities that have better walking and bicycling networks, narrower streets with less and slower vehicle traffic, compact and mixed development so more services and activities are within walking and bicycling distances, better public transit, and TDM incentives to reduce driving and increase non-auto travel. [...] 8 Local Policies for Children’s Health and Success Victoria Transport Policy Institute Traffic Safety Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and injury to children and their loved ones, and traffic risk discourages active travel and therefore children’s mobility, so increasing traffic safety can improve children’s health, opportunity and independence (Tavakoli, et al.

Authors

User

Pages
32
Published in
Canada

Table of Contents