Connect

Connect

Blog Archives

Pucks and Partnerships: Learning Lessons from an Unexpected Place

By Joanne Lee on July 1st, 2015

When I reflect on what makes healthy community partnerships successful, sports analogies often spring to mind. Common comparisons reference sports like football and baseball, in which the efforts of a […]

“Pass the Ball!” and Other Lessons Learned from My Dear Old Dad

By Sarah Strunk on June 19th, 2015

I remember the day I first learned about traffic calming. I was practicing piano when I suddenly heard squealing tires and a crash. Leaping to a window, I watched our […]

Harnessing the Volunteer Spirit

By Phil Bors on June 10th, 2015

Public places that facilitate play, physical activity and healthy food access are critical for a healthy community. However, large projects like parks, greenways and farmers’ markets typically take years to […]

A Blighted Philadelphia Park Becomes Neighborhood’s Jewel

By Mary Beth Powell on June 3rd, 2015

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Philadelphia’s 87-acre Hunting Park has had a miracle resurgence thanks to community activists and a broad-based coalition. Established in 1856, Hunting Park’s neglected […]

Three Ways to Build a Safer Community

By Phil Bors on May 20th, 2015

The threat of violence and inequitable policing in low-income communities is nothing new, as Fay Gibson pointed out so well in last week’s blog. Most people living in middle- and-upper-income […]

Inequitable Policing is a Barrier to Healthy Communities

By Fay Gibson on May 13th, 2015

On April 12, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man and a native of Baltimore, was arrested for making eye contact with an officer and then running. While in police […]

For Safe and Sustainable Community Design, Start with the Community

By Charla Hodges on May 6th, 2015

As more governments, organizations and decision makers recognize how the built environment impacts health and quality of life, curiosity about how to incorporate sustainable community design has grown. Daniel Rodriguez […]

Growing Social Connection Through Food

By Sarah Moore on April 29th, 2015

Each year when the weather warms up, I think back to an afternoon when my family picked blackberries by a road’s edge. I remember thorn pricks, bee stings and the […]

A Smorgasbord of Options for a Healthier Food System

By Risa Wilkerson on April 22nd, 2015

Advocates across many disciplines and with differing viewpoints agree that our food system is broken. But with pervasive problems in every link of that system, there is less agreement about […]

The Hands that Feed Us

By Charla Hodges on April 15th, 2015

As a health-conscious vegetarian and college student on a budget, I spend a lot of time in the produce section of grocery stores evaluating what I am going to buy. […]