I work as a public health official and was reading a brief about the built environment recently by the American Institute of Architects. The brief outlines how built environment can increase "traffic congestion, air, and water pollution," while reducing "opportunities for everyday physical activity like walking or bicycling."1 I live on the edge of a moderately large city in Southern Colorado. As I explained in my last post I live on a mesa and up where I live there are no parks. I love riding my bike but it would be nice to be able to go with my family or by myself on a nice jog or ride without having to go down the Mesa. I am sure this is a deterrent from getting out and physical to others in my community as well. Luckily there is one option for physical activity in my neighborhood, but I doubt many see it as a great option. We have a very large cemetery about 3 blocks from where I live. It has tombstones that date back to the antebellum 1800's. I enjoy riding my bike around during the day with my boyfriend, but rarely see anyone other than the occasional visitor in their car. I wonder if others in my neighborhood have tried to use the cemetery in this manner. I hope that if they have and were too freaked out by all the dead bodies, or massive amounts of birds that they have thought about building a park in our neighborhood. My new plan: brainstorm ways to work with the community to build a park.
1. Public Health and the Built Environment: How Architects Can Design for Better Public Health. March 2003. The American Institute of Architects.
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