Movement & the Built Environment

In recent years, there has been increased attention on our built environment. The rise of the 15-minute City movement, environmental concerns around urban sprawl, and development and redevelopment plans are just some of the ways that the build environment has caught headlines. But what about it's affect on our health and how you move?

There was a unit on the built environment in my Public Health in Kinesiology class in college that caught my attention. For years, I have been haphazardly trying to figure out how to connect them in my professional life. I never wanted to give up fitness as a career, but real estate and its design and development were very interesting to me. That's why I decided to get my real estate license when the gyms were closed for the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm hoping my new professional venture with Move With Mason can be used as a vehicle to make people more aware of the connection between their homes, neighborhoods, and their physical activity levels.

A project I've been looking into recently that has some exceptional data on how influential our environment is on our health is The Blue Zones Project. The Blue Zones are areas around our world that have an increased concentration of centenarians, or people that live to be more than 100-years-old, often with lower rates of cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases than the rest of the world. Researchers eventually formed The Blue Zones Project to see if they could manufacture a Blue Zone in the United States. While that remains to be seen (it takes a long time to live to 100!), the health data the Project has collected speaks for itself: In the Beach Cities region, from 2010 to 2017, there are 25% fewer overweight adults, and in Fort Worth, Texas, cholesterol and high blood pressure cases dropped 11% and 7%, respectively.

Here are some of the things that you can look for in your current (or next!) neighborhood to help increase your movement:

Walkable Streets

Sidewalks are only the beginning, but they're a great start! Pay attention to whether or not sidewalks have physical barriers like planters, trees, parked cars, and bike racks to serve as protection from cars.

Accessible Green Spaces

Studies, including this one from NIH, show that increased access to green spaces produces lower obesity rates. And proximity matters, too. Greenspace that is a walkable distance from the home has higher rates of use.

Bike Lanes

Are you protected from traffic by raised curbs and bollards, or do you run the risk of being hit by an impatient or multi-tasking driver? For many, the answer to that question can make or break their ride. Biking enthusiasts regularly advocate for more bike lanes and increased safety features to bike lanes that already exist. With the rise in e-bikes, biking is becoming an even more accessible commute option. Some cities offer vouchers or other incentives to encourage people to purchase a bike and ride more, helping to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

Stairs

Someone that lives in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment unit will have a much easier time hitting their stair goal on their smart watch than someone living in a rancher. Many people avoid stairs because of aging and knee pain, but taking the stairs is actually a great way to activate your quads and glutes, which are the muscles that support your knee. More stairs, fewer knee problems!

Public Transportation

Areas with reliable, timely, and accessible public transportation systems have lower obesity, hypertension, and heart disease rates, lower health care costs, and a more equitable health distribution among their citizens. Public transportation makes healthcare accessible by giving people that are unable to drive a way to independently see their doctor to address health concerns. And the change doesn't have to be major! Even as little as a 1% increase in the number of people that choose public transportation has been shown to reduce obesity rates.

Incorporating more movement into our lives doesn't have to begin and end at the gym. While we're still learning more about all of the ways our built environment plays into our health, there's no doubt that it can invite us to move more every day. Being in an environment that supports active lifestyles can not only make it easier to decide to move every day, but have the discipline to keep up the habit. It's a win-win!