Riverside/Avondale

Riverside/Avondale – A Healthy Community

Great park in Riverside

Over the next couple of years, the Health Planning Council will identify, recognize and then celebrate at least 7 communities in the 7 Northeast Florida counties where leaders and residents are modeling the 7 qualities of a healthy and sustainable community. What better way to celebrate these health promoting communities than to run / walk through their spectacular parks, their walk-ways, streets, and bicycle paths, their unique retail markets, their vibe, their mixed-use housing, their arts and culture, their preservation efforts, and their connectivity to other neighborhoods. And, what better location to kick off the inaugural Community First Credit Union Hale & Hearty 7K Running Series than in the vibrant community of Riverside/Avondale- located on the cusp of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County.

Quality of a Healthy Life

According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well- being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Indeed a “medical care” focus can distract leaders from the issues that can actually make a measurable impact in health performance. A healthy community, as described by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010 report, is one that continuously creates and improves both its physical and social environments. Such communities help people to support one another in aspects of daily life and to develop to their fullest potential. Happy and Healthy PlacesTM are those designed and built to improve the quality of a healthy life for all people who live, work, worship, learn, and play within their borders. They also provide easy access and connectivity to other communities—places where every person is free to make choices amid a variety of healthy, available, accessible, and affordable options.

As a nation, we are learning that growing a healthy community is a lifelong process-one that requires our constant nurturing and vigilance. Healthy communities result from healthy choices and environments that support shared responsibility. And everyone has a role to play in building a healthier, more vibrant community.

A renewed emphasis on the relationships between economic, social, and political factors and health and mental-well being status is transforming local leaders’ perspectives on identifying the most leveraged loci of change in health improvement.

In April 2002, the American Planning Association identified six qualities that describe healthy and sustainable communities. We’ve added a 7th. Accordingly, healthy communities

• Have a unique sense of community and place;

• Preserve and enhance valuable natural and cultural resources;

• Equitably distribute the costs and benefits of development;

• Expand the range of safe transportation (WalkScore of at least 65, public transportation, bicycle lanes), employment, and housing choices in a fiscally responsible manner;

• Value long-range, region-wide sustainability rather than short-term, incremental, or geographically isolated actions;

• Promote public health and safe & healthy communities; and encourage smiles, laughter and happiness

Follow our blog on Riverside/Avondale for more details on this healthy community!

Register for the event and enjoy a refreshing run through Avondale/Riverside.