Report: Increased Economic Activity following Bike Lane Installation in Toronto
Featured image: Summer Reid/Gleaner News The numbers are in, and it appears as though the controversial installation of bicycle lanes along Bloor Street in Toronto in 2015 has been a success, both for riders and businesses along the well-travelled corridor. The Toronto Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) reports that economic activity along the section of Bloor […]
What Amazon HQ2 RFP Reveals about Transit Importance for Business
Evidence is growing that commuters and businesses alike are recognizing the value of locating near transit routes—particularly high frequency transit routes such as rail, light rail, and rapid bus lines. In their recently unveiled RFP for a new secondary North American headquarters—dubbed ‘HQ2,’—online retail giant Amazon lays out the following requirement for cities hoping to […]
New report: Objective Assessment of Obesogenic Environments in Youth: Geographic Information System Methods and Spatial Findings from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids Study.
Report: Objective Assessment of Obesogenic Environments in Youth: Geographic Information System Methods and Spatial Findings from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids Study GIS-based walkability measures designed to explain active travel fail to capture “playability” and proximity to healthy food. These constructs should be considered when measuring potential child obesogenic environments. The aim of this study […]
Report: Residential Preferences and Public Health in Metro Vancouver
This report highlights results focused on Metro Vancouver from a residential preferences survey that was conducted for the Healthy Canada by Design CLASP Coalition with funding provided by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer’s Healthy Canada by Design Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP) program. This report is a companion piece to The Walkable […]
Walkable Neighbourhoods Prevent Chronic Diseases
Results of two recent studies presented at the annual American Diabetes Association scientific conference in June 2014 support a growing understanding that highlights the relationship between community design and the influence on physical activity and quality of life. Key points from the research include the following: Adults living in neighborhoods with greater walkability had an average 13 […]
Smog building up in eastern Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley
High concentrations of ground-level ozone — smog — are expected to persist for several more days, a Metro spokeswoman said. On last Sunday, the ground-level ozone readings spiked in three Lower Mainland communities — Maple Ridge, Agassiz and Hope. Metro Vancouver has issued an air-quality advisory for those eastern municipalities and the Fraser Valley. Dr. Larry […]
We are British Columbia’s preeminent research lab specializing in the interaction between land use, travel behaviour, air quality, and health. Originally founded in 2003 as the Active Transportation Collaboratory, we have been involved with some of the leading research on active transportation and the benefits it provides for our health, environment, and communities.
The Health & Community Design Lab receives funding from its partners at the School of Community and Regional Planning and the School of Population and Public Health.
Our mission is to assess and to convey how community design, including the location and form of transportation investments and land development actions, impacts: travel, time use, and activity patterns; air quality; climate change; energy consumption; and public health.