Central Oregon may be a recreational mecca to some, but like the rest of the country, we have a growing problem with obesity-related disease. The unhealthy habits that dominate the American lifestyle and lead to obesity-related chronic health issues are now in need of a serious makeover. To help local citizens, businesses and organizations understand how to truly create a healthier community, Commute Options is helping to bring Dr. Richard Jackson to speak in Bend during Commute Options Week, June 16–23.
Commute Options Week is an annual community event designed to promote choices that reduce the impacts of driving alone. Dr. Jackson will speak at a City Club of Central Oregon event at 11:30am on Thursday, June 21 at St. Charles Medical Center. The event, co-sponsored by Commute Options, City Club of Central Oregon, Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association, Oregon Environmental Council, Building a Better Bend and 1000 Friends of Oregon, is open to the public for $20 (includes lunch).
Dr. Richard Jackson, MD, MPH, is the chair of the School of Health at UCLA, and formerly headed the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through his PBS series, Designing Healthy Communities, Dr. Jackson looks at the impact our built environment has on key public health problems – obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer and depression. He connects bad community design with burgeoning health costs, then analyzes and illustrates what citizens are doing about this urgent crisis by looking upstream for innovative solutions.
In his address to the City Club of Central Oregon, Dr. Jackson will discuss the prevention of disease through better urban planning. “Commute Options and our partners are excited to hear Dr. Jackson’s thoughts on the physical environment and how it creates a healthier community. We all have so much at stake, and so many ways to improve our neighborhoods,” said Kim Curley, community outreach director for Commute Options.
At the root of Dr. Jackson’s work is the belief that every citizen has the right to live in a clean and healthy environment. In his presentation, Dr. Jackson will offer examples of healthy community designs achieved by planners, designers, health professions and community leaders working together, and illustrate how ordinary citizens can make the same kinds of positive changes.
Several other events during Commute Options Week will get community members involved in learning how to create a healthier community by using public transit, bike routes and safe routes to school. The week will kick off with a free public transit day (with Cascades East Transit) on Monday, June 18. On Tuesday, June 19, a Bike Commuting 101 class will be held at REI for those interested in safely riding their bikes as a means of transportation. Also on June 19 a Tri-County Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Summit, open to the public and held at Black Butte Ranch, will provide updates from county officials. A Walk and Bike to School Retreat and Training will be held for interested parties from June 21 through June 23.
Commute Options promotes choices that reduce the impacts of driving alone. For more information about Commute Options, contact Jeff Monson, Executive Director of Commute Options at 541/330-2647 or visit www.commuteoptions.org.
Annissa Anderson is a freelance writer and PR consultant in Bend.
