Livable Streets Are Good for Health in the Heartland, Too

The roadscape in Nebraska, built for one thing only. Photo by jWiltshire via Flickr.

The health benefits of livable streets don’t always get enough attention. Today on the Streetsblog Network, we’ve got a story from Missouri Bicycle News about a new study from the St. Louis University School of Public Health documenting how the health of people in rural communities suffers for the lack of biking and pedestrian infrastructure:

Nearly half of the participants reported lack of sidewalks on most streets and stated they felt unsafe from traffic while walking or biking. Those who expressed concerns about traffic safety also were more likely to be obese, the study found.

If you want to drill deeper on the connection between sustainable transportation and public health, download the PDF of a report from the American Public Health Association entitled “At the Intersection of Public Health and Transportation: Promoting Healthy Transportation Policy.”

We’ve also got a cool virtual tour of the future streetcar system in Forth Worth, plus an action alert on a petition drive to “Keep the Stimulus Clean” from Friends of the Earth. And, as always, much, much more.

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