This chart, via Jennifer Keesmaat, shows the important nexus between the infrastructure design and public health.. As evident from the chart, when it comes to building healthy communities the United States has a long way to go in catching up with their counterparts and the huge (no pun intended) disparity in % of obese people shows how unhealthy we are as a nation.

Health implications of city design: more walking, cycling and transit means less obesity + chronic disease (via @jen_keesmaat on Twitter)

Spurred by this tweet, I went looking for data on healthcare spending in the US vs. other OECD countries. Sigh! The chart below shows how much we spend on health compared to other countries (slightly older data).  If we spent a few billion dollars on building more walking/biking/transit infrastructure instead of building more highways and encouraged more people to walk/bike/ride transit, may be we don’t have to incur such an expensive medical bills after all.  Despite all the evidence, our lawmakers seems to be favoring the highway lobbies (and the optics of ribbon cutting for new highways) but talk endlessly about healthcare spending every election cycle!

U.S health spending vs. other countries

Here is a snapshot of the US health spending, according to the OECD:

• Health expenditure per capita: $8,713
• Expenditure as a pct. of GDP: 16.4%
•  Obesity rate: 35.3%
• Life expectancy: 78.8 yrs

“Health spending in the United States (excluding investment expenditure in the health sector) was 16.4% of GDP in 2013, well above the OECD average of 8.9% and the next highest spenders – the Netherlands (11.1%), Switzerland (11.1%) and Sweden (11.0%). The share of GDP spent on healthcare has remained unchanged since 2009 and health spending growth has matched economic growth. The share of government spending in the United States as a share of total spending on health has increased from around 44% in 2000 to above 48% by 2013. Over this period there has been an increase in health coverage for the population – in 2006, Medicare Part D, a voluntary drug benefit programme for seniors and certain disabled persons was introduced.

This graphic puts the use of space by each surface transportation mode in perspective.. and it is quite obvious that cars eat up a lot of space in our urban environments.

Automobile, defined: a really poor use of space to move people thru the city. (Like, the worst.) h/t @jen_keesmaat pic.twitter.com/ZwgdCPvWbv

— Taras Grescoe (@grescoe) December 29, 2014

Image Courtesy: Bikewalkalliance.org

The Alliance for Biking & Walking seeks a talented Communications Manager responsible for raising the profile of the grassroots state and local biking and walking advocacy movement.

• Location: Preferably Washington D.C., but can be remote with periodic travel to D.C.
• Deadline: Open until filled – candidates are strongly recommended to apply before Jan. 16, 2015
• Compensation: Commensurate with experience and includes generous vacation time, health and retirement benefits.

About the Alliance for Biking & Walking
The mission of the Alliance for Biking & Walking is to create, strengthen and unite state/province and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. The Alliance is the only national organization that trains, assists, empowers and strengthens community leaders and their organizations to transform communities through better bicycling and walking. With more than 200 state and local bicycle and pedestrian organizations employing hundreds of professionals in nearly every city and state, our people powered movement is transforming communities and the country.

Position Description
The Alliance for Biking & Walking seeks a talented Communications Manager responsible for raising the profile of the grassroots state and local biking and walking advocacy movement. The Communications Manager will help to meet the organization’s overall mission-driven direction with regards to messaging and communications strategy. The selected candidate will manage and implement the Alliance’s organizational communications, including website, email, print, social media, and press relations work. This person will be a storyteller for the active transportation movement, for our member organizations, and for people who walk and bike in North America. The Communications Manager will also oversee the Benchmarking Project, a biennial data collection project and report that the Alliance undertakes in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Duties and Responsibilities
Communications and Design:

• Set and manage the organization’s overall media, digital, press, and branding approaches.
• Write, edit, design, and manage print materials, including an annual report, brochures, sponsorship guides, and other materials.
• Direct and implement email communications, including a monthly newsletter and non-newsletter mass emails.
• Oversee the organization’s website, blog, and digital presence.
• Promote the Alliance’s work and the work of our member organizations through traditional media, social media, mass email, and organizational partnerships.
• Serve as the organization’s representative in the media; shape the organization’s media strategy and conduct proactive press outreach when appropriate.
• Help write and edit fundraising materials, including grant proposals and appeal letters.
• Oversee and add to the Alliance for Biking & Walking photo library; organize occasional photo contests to make more photos of walking and bicycling available for advocates.
• Conduct trainings, facilitate group calls, share resources, and give advice for state and local biking and walking advocacy organizations members on media relations, communications strategy, and digital strategy.
• Supervise interns and independent contractors as needed.

Benchmarking Project:

• Supervise the Benchmarking Project Manager, who oversees project planning, vision, research, writing, and data collection for the Benchmarking Report, the Alliance’s biennial report on biking and walking data in the United States.
• Design and implement release strategy, marketing, distribution, and presentations.
• Assist with fundraising for an online version of the 2016 Benchmarking Report. If funding is secured, select vendors and manage process for building digital components of the Benchmarking Report.

Qualifications
Essential:

• A strong commitment to the mission of the Alliance for Biking & Walking.
• Two or more years’ experience in communications, digital strategy, or a related field.
• One or more years’ experience in project and staff management.
• Experience managing an organization’s brand and social media for a brand.
• Experience with media relations; comfortable speaking on the record.
• Strong editorial, oral, and written communication skills.
• Proven success with managing and operating CMS and CRM software.
• Working knowledge of HTML; some knowledge of CSS preferred.
• Familiarity with InDesign and the Adobe Suite.
• Familiarity with Salesforce.
• Ability to work on self-directed projects in a flexible work environment with limited supervision, as well as a track record of working well on team projects.
• Comfort working in a learning organization that values meaningful contribution, collective feedback, and process evaluation.
• Cheerful, friendly and upbeat outlook; strong interpersonal and organizational skills.

Helpful:

• Specific experience working with national non-profit organizations.
• Familiarity with the state and local walking and biking advocacy movement.
• Experience producing newsletter content and curating stories representing a diversity of perspectives and lived experiences.
• Experience writing grants and fundraising letters.
• Experience with marketing, publications, and copyediting.
• Experience with Joomla and/or Nonprofit Soapbox.
• Experience working on advocacy campaigns and an understanding of basics of the political process.

How to Apply

Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to Applications@BikeWalkAlliance.org. In addition, please submit a design sample (e.g. an annual report, poster, report, pamphlet, or website), as well as a 500-1000-word writing sample written for a general audience that conveys your writing skills and communication style. No academic papers please. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis – candidates are strongly encouraged to apply by January 16, 2015. Finalists will be contacted for interviews.

The Alliance for Biking & Walking is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or gender identity, disability, sex or age.

Image courtesy: saferoutespartnership.org

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership (National Partnership) is seeking a professional and detail-oriented candidate with experience in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy or policy to join the National Partnership as the Greater Washington DC Active Transportation Fellow. This is a temporary, contract position.

The Active Transportation Fellow will work with the Regional Network Manager and Greater Washington DC Regional Policy Manager to advocate for improved transportation funding allocations and policies for Safe Routes to School, Complete Streets and walking and bicycling. Please review the scope of work for the position for detailed information and application instructions.

Required qualifications for the Greater Washington DC Active Transportation Policy Fellow include: demonstrated experience in social media; student work or personal work in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy or policy; knowledge of Safe Routes to School and/or Complete Streets; ability to write case studies, participate in work groups and present to a variety of audiences; self-starter; detail-oriented; proficient with social media such as Twitter, Facebook and WordPress, PCs and with MS Office software. The successful candidate will work from their home office with their own personal computer, internet access and telephone. Candidate must be able to attend meetings throughout the region, some of which are not Metro accessible.

The final deadline for applications is Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by 12:00 p.m. ET.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, so candidates are encouraged to apply early.  Telephone inquiries are not accepted.

We look forward to hearing from qualified candidates interested in joining our dynamic, visionary and growing non-profit.

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership was founded in 2005 and is a network of more than 600 organizations. The National Partnership mission is to advocate for safe walking and bicycling to and from schools, and in daily life, to improve the health and well-being of America’s children and to foster the creation of livable, sustainable communities.  The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is hosted by the nonprofit Bikes Belong Foundation which is an equal opportunity employer.

An awesome visual, courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize.com, that tells how our mobility models have changed over the years..  In a way it serves a testament to show how much the highway lobby has influenced our society’s transportation preferences, diminishing walking and bicycling over the generations.

A Short History of Traffic Engineering – Image Courtesy: Copenhagenize.com

Sustainable urban transport and development saves lives and improves quality of life. Learn how EMBARQ makes this happen

EMBARQ’s Approach to Health and Road Safety

(Source: YouTube via @Ben_Caves)

You can either write volumes to say how important it is to include physical activities such as walking, biking, etc as part of your life style for a healthy life. Or, you can instead opt to doing something as simple as this video animation and make a compelling argument for an active lifestyle.  Great video by DocMikeEvans with a great message!

(Source: APTA)

Have you ever wondered what is the key to a good health and long life – I knew that it has to be the public transport.  Look at the Europeans —  healthy & happy– riding their bikes, trains, trams, buses, etc.  If you still don’t believe what I’ve said, you now have the proof.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has released a report that explores ways that public transportation affects human health, and ways to incorporate these impacts into transport policy and planning decisions.

Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits, a study conducted for APTA by Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute aggregates the findings of several recent studies and concludes that people living in transit-oriented “smart growth” communities enjoy several health benefits, not seen in other communities, including residents drive less, exposing them to a lower risk of fatal vehicle accidents.

People who live or work in communities with high quality public transportation tend to drive significantly less and rely more on alternative modes (walking,cycling and public transit) than they would in more automobile-oriented areas. This reduces traffic crashes and pollution emissions, increases physical fitness and mental health, andprovides access to medical care and healthy food. These impacts are significant in magnitude compared with other planning objectives, but are often overlooked or undervalued inconventional transport planning.

Various methods can be used to quantify and monetize(measure in monetary units) these health impacts. This analysis indicates that improving publictransit can be one of the most cost effective ways to achieve public health objectives, and publichealth improvements are among the largest benefits provided by high quality public transit andtransit-oriented development.

Some of the key findings from the report are listed below:

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