Communities to Hold Healthy Workshops
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTen sites have been selected for workshops designed to make communities throughout Indiana healthier. Funding for the effort is coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dates for the event have not been determined. February 10, 2014
News Release
Health by Design and the Indiana State Department of Health are partnering to present a series of workshops designed to help communities throughout the state become healthier, more active and accessible communities for all ages and abilities. Funding for the workshops has been provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Twenty-five communities applied for the workshops through a competitive process and ten were selected. The ten communities chosen to host workshops through June 2015 are: City of Frankfort, Bloomington/Monroe County, Warren County, City of Batesville, City of Madison, City of Decatur, Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission, Madison County Council of Governments, City of Shelbyville, and City of Rensselaer.
The daylong workshops will bring together government staff, civic leaders and advocates to network, learn about the benefits of active-living communities, and discuss strategies for success. Organizers will lead participants on a walk audit to assess the accessibility and condition of sidewalks and roads for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as group exercises to identify active-living priorities in each community.
“The point of the workshops is to see that strong communities are built for all ages and abilities, and to begin planning and designing environments that will allow and encourage residents to be active in their day lives,” said Kim Irwin, executive director of Health by Design, a coalition that works to create built environments that foster healthy living.
“If someone can easily walk to the grocery store or bike to work, for example, they’re more likely to do that than drive their car, which benefits them and the community,” Irwin added. “Plus, we’re looking at the built environment from a standpoint of whether someone using a wheelchair or pushing a stroller can easily use it.”
WHAT:
Active Living Workshops
WHO:
Kim Irwin, executive director, Health by Design;
Pete Fritz, RLA, AICP, CPRP, healthy communities planner, Indiana State Department of Health;
Lindsey Bouza, wellness and physical activity coordinator, Indiana State Department of Health; and
Zia Brucaya, Indiana Complete Streets Coalition coordinator, Health by Design
WHERE:
Batesville
Bloomington/Monroe County
Decatur
Frankfort
Madison
Madison County
Rensselaer
Shelbyville
Tippecanoe County
Warren County
WHEN:
Dates TBD
RSVP:
www.healthbydesignonline.org or 317-352-3804
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