Active Design Guidelines released

02.11.10

The City of New York has just released a new publication and policy initiative called Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design.  The guidelines, which have been developed through an interagency effort in collaboration with professional and academic institutions, make simple and accessible recommendations about how design of built features in the City can and should address public health concerns related to obesity and physical activity.  Commissioned, essentially, by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the guidelines are to provide a public health overlay on the sustainability and livability initiatives already being implemented by the Departments of Parks & Recreation, Transportation, City Planning and Design, Development and Construction.  Recommendations are organized in checklists and by scale of design intervention, from large-scale planning down to architectural details.  Urban Omnibus offers a positive appraisal:

The recommendations are not just good for the environment or good design moves. They create a city whose infrastructure is designed to keep us fit, active, and healthy. They address pressing social problems through fairly innocuous and inoffensive measures that are understandable by everyone and can be implemented at all scales.

Tags: design, New York City, parks, recreation, urban planning