|
streetlights, greening or cleanup of public spaces or land, and other efforts to revitalize public
<br />spaces would support improved public safety.195,196
<br />These commenters recommended that Treasury include as an enumerated eligible use in
<br />disproportionately impacted communities projects to develop neighborhood features that
<br />promote improved health and safety outcomes, such as parks, green spaces, recreational
<br />facilities, sidewalks, pedestrian safety features like crosswalks, projects that increase access to
<br />healthy foods, streetlights, neighborhood cleanup, and other projects to revitalize public spaces.
<br />Background: Investments in neighborhood features, including parks, recreation facilities,
<br />sidewalks, and healthy food access, can work to improve physical and mental health outcomes.
<br />Allowing people access to nature, including parks, has been connected to decreased levels of
<br />mortality and illness and increased well-being.197 Urban park use during the COVID-19
<br />pandemic may have declined among lower -income individuals.198 Encouraging physical activity
<br />can also play a role in health outcomes, as a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for chronic
<br />diseases and more severe COVID-19 outcomes.199 Parks, recreation facilities, and sidewalks can
<br />promote healthier living environments by allowing for safe and socially distanced recreation
<br />during the COVID-19 pandemic.
<br />195 See, e.g., Yanqing Xu, Cong Fu, Eugene Kennedy, Shanhe Jiang, Samuel Owusu-Agyemang,
<br />The impact of street lights on spatial -temporal patterns of crime in Detroit, Michigan, Cities, Volume 79, Pages 45-
<br />52, ISSN 0264-2751 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.02.021.
<br />196 A. Chalfin, B. Hansen, J. Lerner et al., Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design: Evidence from a
<br />Randomized Experiment of Street Lighting in New York City, Journal of Quantitative Criminology (2021),
<br />https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-020-09490-6.
<br />197 See, e.g., American Public Health Association, Improving Health and Wellness through Access to Nature
<br />(November 5, 2013), https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy-statements/policy-
<br />database/2014/07/08/09/18/improving-health-and-wellness-through-access-to-nature.
<br />198 LR Larson et al., Urban Park Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are Socially Vulnerable Communities
<br />Disproportionately Impacted?, Front. Sustain. Cities 3:710243 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2021.710243.
<br />199 JP Despres, Severe COVID-19 outcomes the role of physical activity. Nat Rev Endocrinol 17, 451-452
<br />(2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00521-1.
<br />131
<br />
|