Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living

Highway Removal vs. Highway Redesign

Brad Wales — 2024-10-01

Reconnecting The Best Planned City

This is a moment in time, a crossroads even, when public planning processes will either continue to capitulate to the unilateral assumption of retaining existing highways, expressways and transportation corridors, or to insist on a common sense case-by-case approach whereby a clean slate evaluation is started for every transportation project. In Buffalo, New York, where thousands of lives and billions of dollars in future urban developments are at stake, an unbiased approach to evaluating crumbling transportation infrastructures has become an urgent and critical need. In particular, the Kensington Expressway - Route 33 (hereinafter referred to as “Expressway”) is at an advanced age; it was initially constructed as an urban renewal and racism-by-design highway that gutted the East Side of Buffalo in the 1960s. The East Side, an area that is home to over 80% of all Black Buffalonians, was once graced with the Humboldt Parkway. Landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, who proclaimed Buffalo to be “the best planned city, as to streets, public places, and grounds, in the United States, if not in the world,” Humboldt Parkway was an idyllic greenscape and oasis for recreation, fellowship, and active living that was demolished and replaced by the Expressway (Figure A) (Supplemental Figures 1 and 2).^[1]

Now, the Expressway is a constant source of noise and air pollution. These environmental hazards are deleterious to human health and wellbeing as well as the climate and sustainability. Specifically, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a modulator and contributor of the climate crisis, is 26% to 28% above average on the East Side compared to the entire Buffalo and Niagara region.^[2-6] Vehicular emissions, including PM2.5, have contributed to disparately high rates of chronic diseases and illnesses, such as asthma, heart disease, cancers, mental disorders, and even a five to ten year shorter life expectancy among Black vs. White Buffalo residents.^{[7, 8]} The University at Buffalo (UB) Department of Architecture Small Built Works class documented these conditions specifically to Humboldt Parkway neighborhoods using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Environmental Justice Screen Tool (Supplemental Figure 3-5). Furthermore, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) just released the Community Air Quality Initiative conducted in 2021-2022. This report revealed that levels of PM2.5 are highest in Buffalo and “Above Focus Spot Threshold” especially in Hamlin Park and Trinidad, neighborhoods that straddle the Expressway and Scajaquada Expressway - Route 198 (Supplemental Figure 6).^[5] Just last year, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) released the Expressway Draft Design Report/Environmental Assessment (DDR/EA) and in Appendix D7, projected vehicle exhaust plumes were depicted spewing 900-feet out each portal end (Supplemental Figure 7). The UB Small Built Works class overlaid these NYSDOT’s projected plumes back onto the neighborhoods with pin-mapped locations of schools, churches, medical, and youth facilities (Supplemental Figure 8).

These stakes and costs, namely the health of East Side communities, are too high to default to a one-size-fits-all approach for highway remediation. Based on these unique set of circumstances in Buffalo, we developed a five tier Transportation Infrastructure Evaluation System (TIES), an objective set of criteria for the remediation and/or maintenance of any given transportation corridor, especially urban highways. “Tier One – Complete Highway Removal” describes what is needed in Buffalo for basic health, and environmental, social, and transportation justice. Building on what we have learned in our own advocacy, this paper presents TIES, which could contribute to a nationwide discussion for setting highway maintenance and evaluation criteria. Additionally, TIES could move the needle towards a standardization of criteria that will be essential for all impending human health and global sustainability issues in the upcoming decades. These intersecting points of concern, although magnifying, are not new. But, in order to fully understand the breadth and depth of said issues, it is necessary to take a step back and review how we got to this point.

Black Girls as Transformative Leaders in Physical Activity Programs

Tara Blackshear — 2024-10-01

Background: Black adolescent girls possess a unique ability to inspire and enact change in their communities, yet are overlooked in discussions of leadership and empowerment. Coupled with deficit approaches to school-based physical activity programming, positioning Black girls as physical activity leaders is missing from practice. BLinG-Health^TM (Black Leadership in Girls’ Health) trained peer leaders in group fitness instruction instrumental in delivering group fitness sessions in an 8-week after-school physical activity pilot program. Methods and Analysis: This paper presents the qualitative data illustrating the program's impact on Black girls leading peers in a group fitness setting using general inductive narrative analysis based on group interviews, observations, reflection notes, and faculty leadership testimonials. Results: Participants exuded community, collaboration, and confidence. Peer leadership was effective but differed. Girls recognized the program's benefits and challenges while enjoying it. Conclusion: Black girls can lead physical activity initiatives when allowed to do so while building a community. Researchers and school and community activists should empower Black girls to lead physical activity programs to foster better health outcomes.

Developing translational products for adapting evidence-based physical activity interventions in rural communities

Rebecca Bucklin — 2024-10-01

The development and distribution of educational materials is a key strategy to support the implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs). Rural communities have higher rates of physical inactivity and face higher burden of many diseases that increased physical activity can prevent. To support the translation of a developed physical activity intervention for adults in micropolitan communities (10,000-50,000 people), called Active XXXX, the University of XXXX Prevention Research Center for Rural Health (PRC-RH) created a toolkit and supplemental resources designed to guide implementers through the implementation of the intervention. Through a community-engaged process, the PRC-RH underwent three phases of review and evaluation of the developed products. The first phase involved the Community Advisory Board from the pilot intervention, the second involved the PRC-RH State Advisory Board and public health practitioners from across the state, and the third involved micropolitan leaders and micropolitan health department staff. The feedback received through these three phases resulted in changes to the developed products to improve usability, readability, and clarity. The feedback also resulted in the development of additional materials to further support the implementation of the intervention. The success the PRC-RH experienced in the review process can be attributed to the strong, established partnerships with practitioners across the state who represented a variety of community roles and organizations. The developed materials can be used to improve physical activity rates in rural and micropolitan communities, in turn reducing chronic diseases and improving the quality of life for rural residents.

Brownfields to Healthfields: A Retrospective Ripple Effect Mapping Evaluation in Three Rural Communities

Samantha Moyers-Kinsella — 2024-10-01

The environments in which we live influence our health behaviors and outcomes. The redevelopment of brownfields sites to health-promoting land uses may provide an array of benefits to individuals and communities, but these impacts can be particularly difficult to assess in rural communities using traditional evaluation approaches. Using Ripple Effects Mapping, we evaluated three rural brownfields redevelopment sites across Appalachian portions of EPA Region 3. Adult members of these communities participated in guided reflection on the redevelopment and subsequent impacts. Data were constructed as digital mind maps, then coded to the Community Capitals Framework by two authors coding independently. Member checking was conducted with representative workshop participants. Commonly cited impacts were site improvements, facilitation of social and physical activity, and engaging community identity. The most discussed community capitals were social and built; the least discussed capitals were natural and political. Future directions for brownfield redevelopment evaluation are discussed.

A telehealth yoga program for older adults in rural Wisconsin: intervention development and process outcomes

Susan Andreae — 2024-10-01

Although yoga improves physical functioning, balance, and quality of life in older adults, rural residents are less likely to participate due to issues related to availability, access, and beliefs regarding yoga practice. To address these barriers, we worked with community partners to adapt a yoga program designed for older adults for telehealth delivery. In this report, intervention development and process outcomes are presented.

Community collaborators identified strategies to recruit and retain older adults and suggested modifications required to maximize the adoption and maintenance of a telehealth exercise program by local community organizations. Four rural serving organizations evaluated the program, with participants assigned to a first or second offering. Process measures collected at post-intervention supplemented program evaluation measures collected pre- and post-intervention.

The adapted 8-week program consisted of two weekly group sessions delivered over videoconferencing software. Of 48 enrolled participants, 83% completed the program. Participants were on average 72.6 (SD=6) years old, majority white (98%), female (85.7%), and attended some college (92%). Most were satisfied with the telehealth delivery, program content, and yoga instructor with mixed results regarding logistical issues such as program length and duration.

Community organizations similar to those that will ultimately disseminate the program, yoga teachers, and older adults were engaged to maximize the feasibility of this telehealth exercise program. The program appeared to be safe and acceptable, indicating telehealth may be a strategy to increase access to yoga programs for rural-dwelling older adults. Lessons learned will inform future telehealth iterations of this and similar exercise programming.

Adult Sports Participation and Physical Activity: How About Curling?

Michael Kanters — 2024-10-01

Despite its well-documented physical and psychosocial benefits, sport remains the least engaged form of physical activity (PA) among adults. Many adults may lack the skills needed to play or continue to play sports and aging adults are more likely to avoid participation for fear of poor performance or injury. A sport that shows great promise for adults seeking new sports participation outlets is curling. Curling is a team sport comprised of four interchangeable positions working collectively to deliver granite stones across a sheet of ice in an effort to outscore the opponent team. While it seems reasonable that walking on ice, “throwing” a 44 lb granite stone across a sheet of ice, and periodically sweeping while walking on ice over a two-hour period would generate at least a moderate amount of physical activity, research to date is quite limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to objectively measure the amount and intensity of PA achieved by average recreational curling participants during a typical curling match.

Methods

Members of a curling club in NC were asked to wear Actigraph Accelerometers (model GT3X) while they participated in their regularly scheduled curling match. All participants had at least one year of curling experience. Curling matches lasted between 90 and 120 minutes. Participants were asked to indicate their age, gender, and curling position during the match (lead, second, vice, skip) which were matched with accelerometer data.

Results

Overall, 110 participants (37 female, 73 male, avg. age 50 yrs) spent most of their curling time in light or moderate-intensity activity (18.1% Sedentary; 49.5% light; 32.4% moderate; .03% vigorous). In terms of minutes, the average participant spent 35.9 minutes engaged in Moderate-to-Vigorous PA (MVPA) per curling experience. This represents 23.9% of the weekly 150min of MVPA suggested by the CDC. The second position had the highest percentage of moderate activity level and a small percentage of vigorous activity. No other position reached a vigorous level. The skip position had the highest amount of sedentary activity as well as light activity. Females had a higher level of moderate activity in comparison to males. However, males reached a small amount of vigorous activity. The age group of 18 - 36 had the highest amount of moderate activity and the lowest amount of sedentary activity. This age group reached an average of 41.0 minutes of MVPA per curling experience. The age group of > 58 had the highest amount of sedentary activity and the lowest amount of moderate activity.

Conclusions

Curling may be a good sports participation option for adults looking for alternatives to meet recommended weekly amounts of MVPA. Participants should consider playing in one of the first three positions to maximize the amount and intensity of PA achieved while playing. Furthermore, since curling also requires balance, coordination, muscular strength, multitasking, strategic reasoning, and can cater to most physical challenges without compromising the integrity of the game, it may be an ideal sport to promote for adults of all ages and sport abilities.

Implications for Practice and Policy

Findings should be used to inform strategies for promoting curling as an opportunity for team sport involvement that has the added value of contributing to daily physical activity. However, , access and opportunities to play, especially for underserved populations, are limited. Given that most curling clubs in America are private and require a membership to play. Partnership arrangements between existing clubs and public parks and recreation departments could increase both access and opportunities to play.