Active Living

Our sedentary lifestyles, combined with unhealthy diets, are responsible for 300,000 early deaths each year in the U.S. Only tobacco is responsible for more preventable deaths. Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of obesity and many chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Even modest increases in activities such as walking and bicycling can have significant health benefits and help people lead longer, healthier lives. Still, studies show that less than half of U.S. children and adolescents meet the U.S. Surgeon General’s recommended requirements of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous daily physical activity. Adults fare even worse. Less than 10 percent of U.S. adults get the recommended goal of 30 minutes of physical activity per day. The obesity rate in the U.S. has tripled for adolescents and quadrupled for children over the last four decades – and a prime culprit is physical inactivity.

Several public health policies have proven effective in promoting physical activity and reducing weight gain and obesity. Among these policies are improved physical activity standards in schools; increased walking and biking to work or school; and modified built environments, with streets and sidewalks accessible, attractive and safe for active travel, along with multiple bike lanes and multi-use trails. Many of these policies entail land use planning, recreational use statutes, and joint use agreements between entities to share the use of public properties or facilities.

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Featured Publications

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Initiatives and Liability: Opportunities, Perceptions & Realities

Date:

Tue, 12/11/2012

Time:

12:00PM

Various public health policies have proven effective in promoting physical activity and reducing weight gain and obesity. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) initiatives are a topic of conversation in communities looking for ways to promote active transportation. SRTS programs encourage children to make walking and bicycling to school part of their daily routines. However, concerns over accidents, injuries and “liability” may not match the realities. This webinar provides an overview of the development and implementation of successful SRTS initiatives.

Finding Space to Play (2012)

Increasing physical activity is important to promote individual and public health. Whether or not someone is physically active is closely tied to one’s access to a safe, affordable, and convenient place to be physically active. School recreational facilities can provide valuable space for community recreational activity. However, schools and communities must navigate a number of policy and legal considerations when schools open their property for community recreational use. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the key legal and policy issues impacting community recreational use of school property along with a review of the current policy initiatives being pursued at the state and local levels to promote community recreational use of school property.

Eliminating Barriers for Community Recreational Use of School Property: Policy Guidance on Liability & Shared Use (2012)

One key strategy for promoting increased physical activity is to open school property for recreational use by the community during non-school hours. Whether real or misplaced, liability can be a key perceived barrier. State laws relating to school liability are complex, and vary from one state to another. This document was created to outline key concepts to consider when assessing whether to clarify or change state liability protections and provides sample language to use as a staring place for state policy change.

Freedom of Information Act Requests: Frequently Asked Questions (2011)

PDF, 186.6 KB

Community Gardens: Model Resolution Language (2011)

The Public Health Law Center developed model language to be used as a tool for cities and counties to use in the promotion of community gardens on both public and private land.

Liability Concerns in Minnesota: Recreational Maps (2010)
This fact sheet provides an overview of liability protections for municipalities (including cities and school districts) when creating recreational maps.

Bicyclist and Pedestrian Rights and Responsibilities in Minnesota (2010)
This fact sheet provides a summary of bike and pedestrian laws in Minnesota.