Mixed use neighborhoods boost health, reduce emissions

By Stephanie McCauley
September 30, 2015

Since most suburbs were designed for cars, with wide streets and no sidewalks, residents are missing out on opportunities to add movement to their daily routine. An article in CBCNews discusses “obesegenic” environments and how living in them causes us to gain weight and lose life years to heart disease and other illnesses. Even simple daily commuting exercises like climbing flights of stairs or bicycling can greatly improve health outcomes. Urban planners are encouraging more mixed use development, with businesses and shops located near neighborhoods, to help get people moving and healthy.

Climate Protection: Walkable cities allow for less car use and lower CO2 emissions Energy & Mobility: Allows less dependence on cars and gives anyone who can’t drive (children, the elderly) more ability to get around Resilience: Provides for closer resources in times of need Jobs & Assets: Increases local job options and purchases from local businesses Health, Well-Being, & Safety: Encourages physical activity **Connection: **Encourages people to become more engaged in their local neighborhood****

This post is part of a series on examples of ​multisolving​, or climate-smart policies that simultaneously work to mitigate climate change while providing co-benefits such as the ones described above. The multiple benefits analysis was done using the ​FLOWER framework​.