Physical Activity in Communities

RWJF Priority: Increase physical activity by improving the built environment in communities

When children have safe places to walk, bike and play in their communities, they’re more likely to be active and less likely to be obese. Communities can increase opportunities for physical activity by building new sidewalks, bike paths, parks, and playgrounds—and by improving those that already exist.

To encourage families to use these resources and facilities, communities can implement traffic-safety measures and neighborhood watch programs, so children are safe when playing outside. Such measures are especially important in underserved communities, where residents often face high crime rates, dangerous traffic patterns, and unsafe sidewalks.

The resources below, from RWJF grantees and partners, highlight recent efforts to identify the most promising solutions for promoting physical activity in communities.

Childhood Obesity Policy Priorities

From the New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids

Renovating Northgate Park in Camden, NJ

"We want to see kids and families active." The New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids helped to rennovate Camden's Northgate Park, where residents can now use the new playground and participate in activities like tennis, volleyball, and cycling.

Watch the video

From Active Living Research

Do All Children Have Places to be Active?

Children who live in communities of color and lower-income communities are more likely to live in neighborhoods that do not support physical activity.

Read the brief

From Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities

A Healthier Park

Chicago's healthy improvements to Humbolt Park include installing community gardens and healthy vending machines, and improving pedestrian access to parks.

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From Salud America!

Physical Activity, Overweight and Obesity Among Latino Youth

Transportation issues, safety concerns, and lack recreational opportunities are some of the factors that prevent Latino youths from being active and encourage sedentary behaviors.

Read the brief

From Active Living Research

Promoting Physical Activity Through the Shared Use of School and Community Recreational Resources

Shared use of school and community recreational facilities are a cost-effective way to promote physical activity in a community.

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3 p.m. to Bedtime: Crunch Time for Children and Obesity

Crunch Time: Challenges and Solutions

A poll reveals that many parents face a variety of barriers to helping their children lead healthy lives, especially during the "crunch time" from 3 p.m. to bedtime.

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Childhood Obesity Program Area

RWJF is committed to tackling one of the most urgent threats to the health of our children and families—childhood obesity. Our goal is to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015.

Development and Testing of a Community Stakeholder Park Audit Tool

March 1, 2012 | Journal Article

Community parks are an important resource that can support physical activity. Environmental features vary among parks and may include trails, playgrounds, fields, restrooms, drinking fountains, lighting and shade. Few tools exist for auditing parks ...

The Relationship Between Perceptions of Neighborhood Characteristics and Obesity Among Children

April 1, 2011 | Book

This policy paper is from a series published by the National Bureau of Economic Research on obesity in the United States. The authors examined whether maternal perceptions of neighborhood environment affect children’s body weight.

Fitness with Partnerships

January 1, 2010 | Story

The residents of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida have taken an active role in the development of major public health projects. The city is using a broad strategy, leveraging all of its resources to improve the health of its citizens.

Development of the Rural Active Living Assessment Tools

January 1, 2010 | Journal Article

Obesity is a problem in rural, as well as urban, U.S. communities. Researchers have developed a set of easy-to-use, accessible assessment tools to help rural communities examine how friendly their locales are to healthy, active living.

Work Group II

April 1, 2009 | Journal Article

This paper presents conclusions from a work group that examined the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for food and physical activity research. The availability of geospatial information and tools provides new ways to investigate activity, weight and health.

Measuring Physical Activity Environments

April 1, 2009 | Journal Article

This article provides a history of research on built environments, including contributions from health, planning and leisure studies. The authors focus on the groundwork laid by research conducted before 2000.

Work Group III

April 1, 2009 | Journal Article

This article presents conclusions drawn from a work group to examine methodologic issues in research on food and physical environments. Transdisciplinary research on these environments has been hampered by several methodologic challenges.

The Active Living Programs

January 1, 2008 | Book

As a consequence of sedentary lifestyles, obesity rates have climbed dramatically over the last half-century, leading to increases in diabetes, heart attacks and other illnesses.

A Hierarchy of Sociodemographic and Environmental Correlates of Walking and Obesity

August 1, 2008 | Journal Article

This study reveals links between built environment, the likelihood of certain populations to walk in their neighborhoods, and overweight outcomes.

Communities Can Encourage More Bike Riding and Walking to Improve Physical Fitness

April 1, 2003 | Program Result Report

The National Center for Bicycling & Walking developed and published a guidebook entitled Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design: A Guide for Public Health Practitioners.