Healthy community design recognizes the relationship between the built environment — the homes, the streets, sidewalks and other aspects that we build or change, and the health of residents. Built environment decisions contribute to obesity by affecting how physically active we can be in a community.
Why plan?
In the state of New Jersey, communities are required to adopt a land use plan as part of its municipal master plan. The land use plan should outline the location, extent and intensity of existing and proposed development and redevelopment. The master plan and the planning process allow communities to decide if, and how, they are going to promote active lifestyles – compact development, mixed land uses, sidewalks and other pedestrian connections, and bicycle infrastructure. A pedestrian or bicycle master plan, either alone or as part of the circulation element of a master plan, can help formalize a community’s commitment to making walking and biking preferred forms of transportation.
