One way to encourage children and youth to be more physically active, and thereby helping to reduce obesity rates, is to make sure they can exercise safely, particularly in low-income minority communities. This is the central premise of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) movement. Funded by the federal transportation bill, SRTS helps communities make it safer for students to walk and bike to school. The program is so popular in Minnesota that yearly funding requests have outstripped available dollars by as much as 5 to 1.
Chicago Rarities Orchard Project is a new organization founded to establish “community rare-fruit orchards” in Chicago. These orchards, designed for reclaimed urban spaces, are dedicated to preserving a few of the thousands of varieties of tree fruit that aren’t commonly grown by commercial producers.
Fruit produced from our orchards will, in part, be used to fund the project and also be distributed throughout the community. Additionally, using empty lots for orchards provides democratic improvements to Chicago, such as creating beautiful open spaces for our neighbors and educational opportunities for our children.
Chicago Public Schools is adding new safety routes this school year, which begins Sept. 8, officials said.
The seven new Safe Passage routes, as they’re called, affect about 2,500 students. CPS now has safety routes for some 75,000 schoolchildren.
Many of the new routes are near Altgeld Gardens on the far South Side.
It’s no wonder Haas Park was so busy: Logan Square has some of the least green space of any area of the city. “You have Holstein Park, which is over a mile away, and of course there is Humboldt Park, but that’s about four miles south,” explained Porfirio. “Haas Park is basically the green space for our community.”
About a decade ago, the Haas Park Advisory Council, a small but dedicated group of community leaders, met to develop a vision fo rthe park’s expansion. They knew what they wanted - more room so the many activities organized by the park district and community members could flourish. They just weren’t sure how they would get it.
Schools are sited near the children they serve and are safe for children to walk and bicycle. Parents, school districts, local governments, police and community partners work together to ensure the safety of children on the trip to and from school. Children of all abilities, income levels and cultures have traffic safety skills and regularly choose to walk and bicycle. These shifts result in communities with less traffic congestion and air pollution as well as more physically active children and families.
Schools are sited near the children they serve and are safe for children to walk and bicycle. Parents, school districts, local governments, police and community partners work together to ensure the safety of children on the trip to and from school. Children of all abilities, income levels and cultures have traffic safety skills and regularly choose to walk and bicycle. These shifts result in communities with less traffic congestion and air pollution as well as more physically active children and families.
Schools are sited near the children they serve and are safe for children to walk and bicycle. Parents, school districts, local governments, police and community partners work together to ensure the safety of children on the trip to and from school. Children of all abilities, income levels and cultures have traffic safety skills and regularly choose to walk and bicycle. These shifts result in communities with less traffic congestion and air pollution as well as more physically active children and families.
Schools are sited near the children they serve and are safe for children to walk and bicycle. Parents, school districts, local governments, police and community partners work together to ensure the safety of children on the trip to and from school. Children of all abilities, income levels and cultures have traffic safety skills and regularly choose to walk and bicycle. These shifts result in communities with less traffic congestion and air pollution as well as more physically active children and families.
Schools are sited near the children they serve and are safe for children to walk and bicycle. Parents, school districts, local governments, police and community partners work together to ensure the safety of children on the trip to and from school. Children of all abilities, income levels and cultures have traffic safety skills and regularly choose to walk and bicycle. These shifts result in communities with less traffic congestion and air pollution as well as more physically active children and families.