London, ON – Encouraging Londoners to leave the car, minivan or SUV at home in favour of getting around under their own power is the main point of a new report entitled HEALTHY CITY / Active London. The document is the Middlesex-London Health Unit’s position paper on Active Transportation, defined as any form of human-powered transportation, and is the agency’s submission to ReTHINK London, the year-long community conversation about the city’s future that will propose recommendations for London’s revised Official Plan. HEALTHY CITY / Active London calls on the City of London to fully embrace and promote Active Transportation as the preferred means of travel over dependency on automobiles.

“There is a rapidly growing body of evidence to support Active Transportation as a strategy that can improve the overall vitality of the community as it continues to grow,” says Dr. Graham Pollett, Medical Officer of Health with the Middlesex-London Health Unit. “The potential exists to achieve significant health, economic, and environmental benefits by making Active Transportation a priority when developing new neighbourhoods, planning business and shopping locations, and rehabilitating our roads.”

The issues of obesity, physical inactivity, chronic disease and environmental degradation are considered in the document as challenges which have a direct impact on health care costs, lost productivity and reduced community vitality. In particular, the report points to local statistics which show that between 2003 and 2010, there was a seven percent increase in the number of London and Middlesex County residents who were considered obese. The result is that more than half of the adults in the region are now considered to be overweight. However, participating in Active Transportation can lead to a more physically active life, which has the potential to reverse this trend.

The report underlines the critical role that active transportation plays in developing a future that is environmentally stable, economically viable and healthy for Londoners. The report contains 19 recommendations for the upcoming revision of London’s Official Plan, including that Active Transportation must be promoted as a superior travel option compared to travelling by car.

HEALTHY CITY / Active London was written on behalf of the Middlesex-London Health Unit by Dr. Jason Gilliland, Associate Professor of Geography, Health Sciences and Paediatrics and Director of the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory (HEAL) at Western University, along with HEAL research associates Doug Rivet and Steve Fitzpatrick. The position paper cites research studies that provide evidence that the way we plan, design, and build our cities and neighbourhoods has a significant influence on whether or not people will walk or bike to work, to school or to shop.

Media contact:
Dan Flaherty, Communications Manager, Middlesex-London Health Unit, 519-663-5317 ext.2469 or 519-617-0570 (cell.)

Spokesperson:
Dr. Graham Pollett, Medical Officer of Health, Middlesex-London Health Unit