Healthy Communities Talk October 8th

Wednesday, October 8th, James F. Sallis, Distinguished Professor of Family & Preventive Medicine at University of California, San Diego, will give a Healthy Communities talk, "Rx for Better Health: Walking, Biking, and Moving."

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From the poster:

62% of Oregon’s population is overweight or obese. Obesity related illnesses cost the state about $1.6 billion a year in health care costs. Join us on Wed., Oct. 8, to hear a national expert discuss how community design, land use, and transportation policies can enable us to be more physically active – and, in turn, healthier throughout our lives.

The Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association has more:

A national expert on active living will speak in Portland (10/7), Beaverton (10/7), Salem (10/8), Eugene (10/9), and Bend (10/10) to discuss how community design, land use, and transportation policies affect our ability to be more physically active - and, in turn, our ability to stay healthy throughout the lifespan...

While public health officials have long understood that toxins in air, water, and food can harm human health, many now recognize that the way communities are designed and laid out - and the extent to which transportation policies help or hinder options to move more through simply walking and bicycling - can have dramatic consequences on the level of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease that are seen in the population.

Sallis' presentation will be followed by an interactive exchange on specific steps that cities can take to improve conditions for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other "active travelers."

At least two presentations are planned in each region-a technical discussion geared towards health professionals and professional planners, engineers, and urban designers (most planned during the day), and an evening event for the public.

Doors will open at 6pm, and the talk runs from 6:30 to 8:30pm. It will be at Willamette University Law Building, John C. Paulus Great Hall, 245 Winter St., S.E.