1. Safe Places to Play Identifying Opportune School Sites for Joint Use in Oakland, CA
All images: Google images
Rachel Cushing || UP 206A || March 15, 2011

2. Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity rates have tripled in last years
The problem: childhood obesity rates have tripled in the last 3-4 decades
Obesity in childhood is a strong predictor of obesity in adulthood
Obesity is related to a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and others
Some pediatricians remark that their patients are coming in with “old” body problems at very young ages
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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3. Childhood Obesity
7 out of 10 children in California do not meet physical activity guidelines
This could be the first generation of American children to have a shorter lifespan than their parents
Physical activity is a major determinant of weight
Risk of obesity increases with physical inactivity
If current trends of obesity are not reversed, this could be the first generation of American kids to have a shorter lifespan than their parents
Sources: California Health Interview Survey; Olshansky, et al. (2005)
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4. Access Matters
Children that lack access to parks have 20-45% higher odds of becoming overweight or obese compared to those with easy access
Creating or enhancing access to places for physical activity can result in a 25% increase in the percentage of people who exercise at least 3 times/week
Physical inactivity is not simply due to a lack of motivation – if kids don’t have access to safe places to play and exercise, they are much less likely to do so, but increasing access can increase activity
Source: Glanz & Sallis (2006); Task Force on Community Preventive Services
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5. Joint Use The sharing of school facilities with local communities
Health benefits
Cost benefits
Community benefits
Joint Use is one solution to this problem
Health benefits: increase physical activity
Cost benefits: saves money to not duplicate facilities
Community benefits: makes schools into community hubs, can build social capital
Sources: Center for Cities and Schools; Prevention Institute
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6. Lack of Joint Use
40% of California school districts do not have joint use partnerships in effect
Joint Use has been implemented in communities throughout CA and beyond, but more could be done
CA Dept of Education funding structure
One major issue is that the current funding structure in the California Department of Education basically allocates funding for Joint Use projects on a first-come, first-serve basis. This means that low-resource communities – often, the same ones that have the least access to parks – tend not to receive state funding.
Sources: Center for Cities and Schools; Prevention Institute
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7. Total city population:
397,067
My area of study: Oakland, California
Sources: American Community Survey (2006 estimate); U.S. Census (2010 projection)

8. Here are the locations of parks in Oakland (there are about 100 total) and the city’s population
We’re going to examine zip code 94601, which has the highest population

9. Zip code population:
55,425
Here is the population of zip code by Census block groups, and the location of parks in the area

10. Existing Park Space
Zip code total area: 3.38 sq.mi.
Current Situation
Park area: 0.03 sq.mi.
Area of zip code located within 0.25mi of a park: 0.57 sq.mi.
Total coverage (park area + park service area): 0.60 sq.mi.
17.86% of zip code area is within 0.25 miles of a park
The current situation in the zip code is:
Parks cover 0.03 square miles of space
Just over ¼ square mile of area is located within 0.25 of a park
¼ is often used as a proxy for a walkable distance – particularly when looking at kids
When we add up the total area covered by parks and the ¼ mile service area, we find that approximately 18% of the zip code is located within walking distance of a park

11. ≈18% of zip code area is within 0.25 miles of a park
Here are the ¼ mile service areas of local parks, shown with the zip code population and a satellite image basemap

12. Proposed Policy Change
Establish joint use agreements with the 8 schools located in zip code to increase local children’s access to spaces for physical activity
I propose adding Joint Use agreements at each of the 8 public schools in the zip code to increase local kids’ access to places to be physically active

13. 6 schools are located >0.25 miles from a park
8 schools total
6 schools are located >0.25 miles from a park
Location of the 8 schools
2 of them fall within ¼ of a park
I argue, however, that all 8 could benefit from Joint Use agreements, given the physical fitness status of the students
It is recommended to establish joint use agreements at all 8 schools, given low student Fitnessgram scores at all 8 schools

14. California Fitnessgram Categories
1) Aerobic Capacity
PACER (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run)
One-Mile Run
Walk Test (only for ages 13 or older)
2) Abdominal Strength and Endurance
Curl-Up
3) Upper Body Strength and Endurance
Push-Up
Modified Pull-Up
Flexed-Arm Hang
4) Body Composition
Skinfold Measurements
Body Mass Index
Bioelectric Impedance Analyzer
5) Trunk Extensor Strength and Flexibility
Trunk Lift
6) Flexibility
Back-Saver Sit and Reach
Shoulder Stretch
In California, physical fitness is measured by the Fitnessgram, a test completed by public school students every year
There are 6 categories of fitness tested
I decided to look at the proportion of kids that achieve the “Healthy Fitness Zone” in 5 or more of the 6 categories
Source: California Department of Education

15. At best, half of the kids are scoring very high on the Fitnessgram
Here are the rates of students at each of the schools that achieved 5 or more Healthy Fitness Zones
At best, half of the kids are scoring very high on the Fitnessgram
At worst (Life Academy), 1 in 8 kids are scoring very high
Clearly there is a need for these kids to be more active, and Joint Use is one strategy to do this
Note: Learning Without Limits has 0% because they are a new school and thus were not included in the Fitnessgram
Note: Learning Without Limits school was founded in 2009, thus there is no data available from the Fitnessgram

16. Adding Spaces for Physical Activity
Zip code total area: 3.38 sq.mi
By adding joint use agreements at 8 schools
Area of zip code located within 0.25mi of schools: 0.70 sq.mi.
New total coverage (parks + park service area + school service area): 1.31 sq.mi.
38.65% of zip code area is within 0.25 miles of a park or school
Nearly a ¾ square mile area of the zip code is located within walking distance (1/4 mile) of a school
By opening up the schoolyards at these 8 schools, we could increase the proportion of the zip code area that is within walking distance of a place to be active to nearly 40% (up from 18%)

17. ≈39% of zip code area is within 0.25 miles of a park or school

18. Impact of establishing Joint Use agreements at 8 local schools
116% increase in proportion of zip code area covered
This is a 116% increase in the proportion of the zip code area covered within walking distance of places to be active

19. Safety Matters
Vehicle speed is the most significant predictor of pedestrian fatality in the event of a collision
Of course, traffic safety is a major concern, particularly when we’re look at kids walking to parks and schools
In a collision, the faster a car is traveling, the more likely a pedestrian is to be killed
Thus, we want kids to travel on the least trafficked roads possible
Source:

20. Safety Matters
Children that must cross several major roads to get to parks are 40-60% less likely than other children to walk or bicycle to parks at least three times per week
The fear of traffic injuries may keep parents from letting their kids walk to parks or schools in the first place
Again, we are trying to address the issue of access here – opening the schoolyards won’t make much of a difference if kids and parents don’t feel safe getting to the schools to exercise
Source: Timperio A, et al. (2004); Google images

21. On the left is a map showing the local and major roads and highways running through the zip code
On the right is a network analysis showing the safest walking routes to get to the schools and parks within ¼ mile

22. Recommendations
Establish joint use agreements at the following 8 Oakland schools:
ASCEND Elementary School
College Prep & Architecture Academy
Lazear Elementary School
Learning Without Limits
Life Academy
Manzanita Seed
Think College Now Elementary School
Urban Promise Academy
Create a map of “safe routes” to local parks and schools and disseminate via school communications and other appropriate channels
My policy recommendations are to establish Joint Use agreements at the 8 schools in the zip code, and to create a map showing the safest routes to get to the schools and parks, and distribute it through appropriate local channels

23. Original Data Process:
Located schools on Oakland Unified School District map (OUSD district 5 region 2 encompasses zip code 94601)
Searched OUSD website for school addresses
Geocoded school names and addresses in ArcMap and created a layer file and shapefile
A few notes on the skills I demonstrated in my project
I created the school layer and shapefiles I worked with by finding local schools through the OUSD website and geocoding the addresses

24. Original Data Process:
Located Fitnessgram data for schools on California Department of Education website
Input Fitnessgram into Excel
Created a model to join school shapefile with Fitnessgram data spreadsheet ,and added the resulting parameter to future maps
I also found Fitnessgram data for each of the 8 schools and input this into a spreadsheet, which I joined with the schools data by creating a model

25. Here is my model – it is modest but effective!

26. for my original “OUSD_94601_ Schools_Fitgram” layer file
Metadata
for my original “OUSD_94601_ Schools_Fitgram” layer file
Here is a screen shot of the metadata for my “OUSD Schools Fitgram” file

27. Skills Demonstrated
Modeling: created a model to join schools shapefile with Fitnessgram data (slide 25)
Metadata: created a metadata log for “OUSD_94601_Schools_Fitgram.lyr” in ArcCatalog (slide 26)
Measurement/Analysis: measured total area of park space, park service area, and school service area in zip code (map 4/slide 11 and others)
Original data: created original “OUSD_94601_Schools_Fitgram” layer and shapefile (data shown on map 6/slide 15, process described on slides 23-24)
Chart: created a chart of school Fitnessgram results (map 6/slide 15)
Network Analysis: created new service areas for parks (map 4/slide 11 and others) and schools (map 7/slide 17 and others) in zip code 94610; created new service areas to determine safest routes (map 9/slide 21)
Inset map: created inset maps of California (map 1/slide 7) and Oakland zip codes (map 3/slide 9)
Point graduated symbol: Graduated symbols by color of school Fitnessgram scores (map 6/slide 15)
Attribute sub-sets selections: selected Oakland zip codes from all California zip codes (map 1/slide 7 and others)
Geoprocessing: clipped all California parks to city of Oakland (map 2/slide 8) and to zip code (map 3/slide 9 and others); clipped Oakland population to zip code by Census block group (map 3/slide 9 and others)
Geocoding: goecoded addresses of schools in zip code (map 5/slide 13 and others)
Here is a list of the skills I used

28. Thank You Additional resources on joint use available via:
All images: Getty Images
Additional resources on joint use available via:
Prevention Institute
Public Health Law & Policy: