Built Environment

Walking Programs

• Author(s): Canada Walks (http://www.canadawalks.ca/)

• Organization: Canada Walks (http://www.canadawalks.ca/)

• Date Published: January 1, 2011

This webpage highlights a number of walkability resources that focus on best practices and case studies in communities from across Canada.

http://canadawalks.ca/programs/

What Role Can Design Play in Creating Safer Parks?

• Organization: Project for Public Spaces http://www.pps.org
• Date Published: January 6, 2014

Excerpted from Planning, Designing and Maintaining Safer Parks, produced by Toronto Parks & Recreation. This guide is not intended to be a definitive statement on creating safer parks and open spaces, nor is it intended to serve as a template for the design, operation and use of parks. The design of a park can have a direct impact on people’s perceptions of safety and their willingness to use a space. The physical characteristics which park users associate with high-risk environments include:
Poor lighting
Confusing layout
Physical and aural isolation
Poor visibility
No access to help
Areas of concealment
Poor maintenance
Vandalism
Presence of “undesirables”
Designing a park for safety is based on what is generally considered to be good design: it meets the needs of its users; it is diverse and interesting; it connects people with place; and it provides people with a positive image and experience. While good design will not necessarily eliminate perceptions of fear or opportunities for crime to occur, it can create the preconditions for effective control.

http://www.pps.org/reference/what-role-can-design-play-in-creating-safer-parks/

Where do the Children Play? The Significance of Natural Environments. Presentation from the 2011 National Recreation Summit, Lake Louise, Alberta

• Author(s): Jane Hewes http://www.galileonetwork.ca/earlylearning/?q=content/jane-hewes

• Date Published: October 28, 2011

This presentation highlights the importance of involving children in the design of natural playgrounds.

http://lin.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/Hewes2011.pdf

White Paper: Evaluating the Economic Benefits of Nonmotorized Transportation

• Author(s): Office of Human Environment; US Department of Transportation

• Organization: US Department of Transportation

• Date Published: March 1, 2015

This report examines potential methods for evaluating the economic benefits from nonmotorized transportation investments. The variety of potential economic benefits of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and programming investments discussed include commute cost savings for bicyclists and pedestrians, direct benefits to bicycle and tourism-related businesses, indirect economic benefits due to changing consumer behavior, and individual and societal cost savings associated with health and environmental benefits

http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/cms/downloads/NTPP_Economic_Benefits_White_Paper.pdf