A massive ad campaign by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Health is encouraging people to take the stairs for their health and the environment.
According to Flora Lichtman of NPR, New York City is embarking on a new public health campaign-- building more steps, and having more people climb them on a regular basis. A long-term study of 11,130 men titled, "Physical Activity and Health Study" showed that men who climbed roughly three to five floors a day reduced their risk of stroke by 29 percent.
Despite these positive health benefits, Lichtman reports, "not everyone can take the steps — there are people with disabilities, or who are carrying packages or pushing strollers." Indeed, the campaign is "part of a bigger movement called 'active design'... The idea is to build an environment that can help us expend energy and use architecture to promote health."
In New York City, all new city buildings must consider and incorporate active design strategies into their plans. Moreover, active design is being implemented in various places around the country. These strategies can be simple as, "planting street trees, putting in a bench, closing off a small piece of street to create a plaza." These small improvements lead to more people walking around and being active.
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research