St. Louis' Forest Park is a model of good planning, but inner-city parks are in much worse shape and having an effect on the health of those communities, says a new study.
The study, conducted by researchers at St. Louis and Washington Universities, found that "African Americans wanting to walk for exercise were a lot more likely to encounter uneven sidewalks, obstructions and physical disorder."
Researchers found a significant number of inner-city parks had poorly maintained equipment and cracked, uneven sidewalks -- deterrents to maintaining health by walking.
"Even if people were informed enough to know what to do, "they were in an environment that fought against them doing that,"" said one researcher.
FULL STORY: City parks and sidewalks play a role in health disparities
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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