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Brooke, Megan, Anne, Sylvia,Anna Kay, Tayvia, Timika, and Sara

Indian Trail Communit

y Assessment Project

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Sidewalks

• Sidewalks are limited to “subdivided” areas which makes them exclusive to those residents.

• Lack of sidewalks limits access to parks and contributes to obesity.

• Residents are unable to get to stores to make healthy food choices.

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Intervention of Sidewalk Needs• Meetings with town leaders to discuss the benefits of

sidewalks on the community• City finds funds to finance sidewalk project.• Sidewalks built in conjunction with new park project

(M. Moore, personal communication, February 16, 2011).

• The construction of sidewalks, especially in areas that are more populated.

+Research Says

“There is a significant relationship between environmental characteristics (sidewalks) and physical activity.”

“Several authors propose the obesity epidemic is partially the result of drastic environmental transformations that have negatively impacted physical activity.”

“Residents of high-walkability neighborhoods tend to accumulate more minutes of physical activity and walk more for recreation and transport and are likely to meet physical activity recommendations than residents of low-walkability neighborhoods.”

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Desired Sidewalk Outcomes

• Residents can access outdoor amenities safely.

• The construction of more sidewalks to increase physical activity.

• Decreased obesity rates.

+Annotated Bibliography

Suminski, R., Heinrich, K., Poston, W., Hyder, M., & Pyle, S. (2007). Characteristics of urban sidewalks/streets and objectively measured physical activity. The New York Academy of Medicine, 85(2), 178-190. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430121/?tool=pubmed

This article studied the relationship between environmental characteristics, such as sidewalks, and physical activity. It provided further evidence that environmental characteristics (sidewalks) and walking are related. It discussed how the obesity epidemic is partially the result of environmental transformations that have negatively impacted physical activity. The study concluded that residents of high-walkability neighborhoods tend to accumulate increased physical activity time and walk more for recreation and transport and are more likely to meet the physical activity recommendations and have lower obesity rates than residents of low-walkability neighborhoods. More sidewalks within a community can lead to more physical activity among individuals and therefore, lower rates of obesity.