Further to the post below several posts below: What is Oklahoma City doing after its Million-Pound Diet? This, according to Fast Company:
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Like many cities in the U.S., Oklahoma City was built to cater to a car culture. For decades, private developers were not even required to plan for sidewalks as the city grew. In 2008, Prevention magazine ranked it “the worst walking city” in the U.S.
“I’d realized we’d built an incredible quality of life here–if you happened to be in a car,” says Mayor Mike Cornett … who used to run one of the most obese cities in the nation.
On January 1, 2012, five years after he received national attention for challenging his city to go on a joint diet, he announced they’d hit their weight loss goal: A total of 47,000 residents had together achieved the mayor’s goal of shedding 1 million pounds, registering their achievements on the campaign’s site, “This City Is Going On A Diet.” …
But it turns out hitting the weight loss goal was only the beginning. It won’t do much good if the city just goes back to its old ways. To keep off the pounds, the Cornett believes permanent, longer-term changes are needed, which is why Oklahoma City’s streets, sidewalks, and parks are now in the process of getting a makeover….
The remaking of Oklahoma City–which already has a low unemployment rate– also clearly serves goals other than health: the city is working hard to become a “destination” for millennials
“Every city out there is trying to recruit highly educated twenty-somethings. That’s how you drive the economy in this digital age,” says Cornett. “These highly educated young people, they don’t want to live in a community that doesn’t value its health. They don’t want to be in a community that isn’t walkable.
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In one handy story, the connection between motordom, obesity, urban form, public health programs and economic competitiveness. The City as Workout. (Thanks to Karole Sutherland.)
