Health and Equality
 If
current trends in obesity and inactivity continue, today's youth
will be the first generation in this nation's history to face a
shorter life expectancy than their parents. This health crisis
costs the United States over $100 billion each year. The epidemic
of obesity, inactivity, and related diseases like diabetes is shortening
children's lives and destroying the quality of their lives. In
California, only 27% of fifth, seventh, and ninth graders achieved
minimum physical fitness standards in 2004. In the Los Angeles
Unified School District (LAUSD), only 15% of students are physically
fit. This crisis is not just the result of individual eating or
exercise habits.
Policy makers must work together to provide places to play in
schools, parks, and green space so children can get physically
fit and perform better academically. Urban areas like Los Angeles
fail to provide enough open space for recreation in parks, schools,
and other public lands. Los Angeles is park poor. School yards
are devoured by portable classrooms. Physical education classes
are bloated with up to 75 students. Physical education is not
required after 10th grade. Without exercise at school, children
are unlikely to get enough elsewhere. There are unfair disparities
in access to parks and recreation space based on income, race,
ethnicity, and access to cars.
The City Project advocates a comprehensive
approach to improve human health and promote healthy communities
that includes: (1) green space for recreation in parks, schools,
beaches, forests, and other public lands while ensuring the fair
treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes; (2) the
joint use of parks and schools to make optimal use of scarce land
and public resources; (3) physical education for every student
every day in every school; (4) educational programs in parks and
schools to instill the lifelong values of physical fitness and
healthy nutrition; (5) public education campaigns to promote these
goals as a matter of human health, educational reform, and sustainable
regional planning; (6) healthier alternatives to junk foods in
schools and parks, and easy access to drinking water; (7) diversifying
access to and support for forests and wilderness areas; and (8)
federal and state funding and programs for active recreation on
public lands. The City Project is implementing a collective vision for
a comprehensive and coherent system of parks, schools, beaches,
forests, and transit that promotes human health and economic vitality
and reflects the diverse cultural landscape.
The City Project recently published the article Healthy
Children, Healthy Communities: Parks, Schools, and Sustainable
Regional Planning (584 KB [PDF]) in the
Urban Equity Symposium in the Fordham Urban Law Journal. Read
the concise four page
Policy Brief (364
KB [PDF]).
Download the Policy
Brief en español (228 KB [PDF]).
At the request of California State Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), medical and public health experts and The City Project recommended evidence-based, fundable programs to promote physical activity among children and adolescents. The recommendations will help us in the fight for our children's lives, and for the quality of life for our children and their families and friends.
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