Healthy Futures for BC Families: A Policy Discussion October 2, 2008

1. Promoting Healthy Communities through Smart Growth Cheeying Ho, Smart Growth BC Healthy Futures for BC Families: A Policy Discussion October 2, 2008

2. Outline How land use impacts community health Principles of smart growth and promotion of healthy communities Land use policy recommendations for healthy communities

3. HOW DOES LAND USE IMPACT COMMUNITY HEALTH?

5. Financial impacts • Infrastructure deficit of Canadian municipalities has reached $123b (FCM) • Costs to individuals to buy, insure, maintain, and gas up a vehicle • Environmental impacts • Air pollution • GHG/climate change • Habitat loss

6. Social Impacts Lack of housing and transportation choices Lack of access to services and amenities Destruction of farmland Loss of community identity and uniqueness

7. Anytown, BC

8. Health Impacts • Air pollution / asthma • Injuries from accidents • Weight, obesity, blood pressure

9. Research findings • In the last 20 years, child obesity rates have quintupled in Canada (Centre for Health Promotion Studies). • In 1981, 10.6% of Canadian boys and 13.1% of Canadian girls were overweight or obese, compared to 29% of boys and 27% of girls in 2000/01 (Heart and Stroke Foundation). • The number of fast food outlets decreases with neighbourhood wealth (Centre for Health Promotion Studies).

10. Ontario College of Family Physicians Report on Public Health and Urban Sprawl in Ontario • People who live in spread-out, car-dependent neighborhoods are likely to walk less, weigh more, and suffer from obesity and high blood pressure and consequent diabetes, cardio-vascular and other diseases, as compared to people who live in more efficient, higher density communities

11. Heart and Stroke Foundation 2005 Report Card Has the American Dream Gone Sour? • Individuals living in moderate-to-high density neighbourhoods that have community and commercial services within walking distance of where they live, are 2.4 times more likely to meet this 30-minute daily minimum [recommendation to be physically active].

12. Smart Growth BC Report “Promoting Public Health through Smart Growth” (2006) • The three most important factors linked to increased walking were density, land use mix and connectivity. • Residents of smart growth communities walk and bicycle more and drive less than residents of more isolated, automobile-dependent locations. • This results in measurably better physical fitness, and reduced likelihood of obesity.

13. Specific findings • Linkages between school siting and children’s travel patterns. • Programs to promote physical activity in school activities and other interventions have only met with limited success. • Building the opportunity to be physically active into daily routines is the most effective way to improve community fitness.

14. Smart Growth • Smart Growth is a collection of development strategies that • enhance our quality of life, • protect our environment, and • use tax revenues wisely • Managing growth • Providing choice

15. PRINCIPLES OF SMART GROWTH (aka: planning for healthy communities)

16. Smart Growth Principles • Mix land uses • Build compact communities • Provide transportation choices • Create diverse housing • Develop in existing communities • Utilize greener, smarter buildings and infrastructure • Foster unique neighbourhood identity • Preserve ESAs • Protect working lands and farmlands • Nurture engaged citizens

17. Compact, mixed-use neighbourhoods • Provide access to amenities and daily needs close by • Make walking, cycling and public transit more attractive and feasible

18. The three most important factors linked to increased walking were density, land use mix (proximity to locations) and street connectivity (direct travel from one destination to another) – especially important for our young citizens and older citizens

19. Well-designed density 11.7 units per acre

20. Transportation options are more available when there is sufficient density and a mixture of land uses

21. Access vs. Mobility • Transportation investments should be designed to provide all citizens with safe, convenient and affordable access to most daily needs, including employment, education, shopping, personal services and recreation • Access to public transit, good pedestrian and cycling facilities is especially important for those who don’t or can’t drive a car Smart Growth and Transportation

22. Density and transit usage Tom Lancaster / Cheeying Ho Smart Growth BC

23. Street connectivity Dr. Lawrence Frank, UBC 0.8 km 2 km Images are the same scale, approximately 1.6 square km Tom Lancaster / Cheeying Ho Smart Growth BC

24. Langley Langley City Walkability of Metro Vancouver Municipalities Walkability Index Dr. Larry Frank, UBC

25. Walkability Index (BC Sprawl Report)

26. Housing Choice Land use affects: • Affordability • Diversity

27. Housing Choice • In general, low-density single-detached homes use more land and infrastructure relative to other housing types (e.g. townhouses, row-houses, apartments, secondary suites, and compact single-family homes). By introducing a diverse range of housing types, the average cost of housing in a community can be reduced.

28. Housing Choice Workers, such as our teachers, health care providers, professionals, and retail employees, need to be able to afford to live in the communities they serve. As our citizens age, there will be a greater demand for alternatives to single-detached homes and access to transit and amenities

29. Housing Choice Household types in BC

30. Housing Choice

31. Transportation • Residents who live in close proximity to shopping, employment, schools and transit (location efficiency) are more likely to be able to walk, cycle, or take transit on some or many of their daily trips. Having one fewer car or no cars at all can free up income to pay for other things, including housing. Affordability index = Housing Costs + Transportation Costs Income (Brookings Institution, 2006)

32. The Changing Market “A Portland economist predicts that buyers soon will choose where to live based on what they would spend for gasoline.” “….a national Coldwell Banker survey of almost 1,000 real-estate brokers. Last month, 93 percent said rising gas and oil prices were "a concern to their clients," and 78 percent said higher fuel costs are increasing their clients' interest in urban living.”

33. Vibrant Economies • Regional economies are strengthened when jobs are located near a variety of affordable, attractive housing choices. • Productivity is higher among workers with easy commutes, and turnover rates and associated training costs decrease when employees are less likely to change jobs to be closer to home. • The ability to live near work and/or transit enables employees to spend less time and money commuting.

34. Farmland and Working Lands • The ALR acts as a defacto urban containment boundary • The agricultural sector provides about 50% of BC’s food supply and generates $2B/year in economic activity….. • To maintain this level of food security, in 2025 we will need an additional 1.56 million acres in production

35. The ALR is not a residential land reserve!

36. Policy Directions • Implement policies and guidelines that foster the development of compact, complete communities and neighbourhood/village centres • Coordinate health planning with transportation, affordable housing and land use planning • When siting for new schools (and other public infrastructure), strengthen existing neighbourhoods and encourage walking, biking, transit • Promote the protection of farmland as a strategy for providing healthy, local food choices

37. Getting People Outdoors and Active Connecting Neighbours to Each Other Cleaning the Air and Water Improving Access to Healthy Eating Choices Planning Guidelines for Healthy Communities

38. THANK YOU! www.smartgrowth.bc.ca