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Designing Healthy Communities: LawrenceZoning & Public Health
Zoning Reform to Inspire Healthy Living
Heather McMann, Groundwork Lawrence
Groundwork Lawrence
• For people - creating opportunities for people to learn new skills and take local action
• For places - creating better, safer and healthier neighborhoods
• For prosperity - helping business and individuals fulfill their potential
Lawrence in 1850
Lawrence Now
Statistics• One of the poorest & most heavily Latino cities in NE
• Population 76,000 in 7 square miles
• 25%+ of families below poverty line
• Low Homeownership & High Unemployment Rates
• High rates of foreclosure
• 37% of residents hold HS degree
• Young population (~30% under age 24)
• Diet & lifestyle-related disease rates soaring
• Highest rates of youth obesity in MA
• Food Desert:• 1 Grocery Store, 100+ Corner Stores• Fast Food Restaurants
Healthy Food Access
• 1850s - Small mill built on the site, including several raceways running through the property
• 1940s: - Site redeveloped into a commercial laundry
• Late 1980s - Laundry buildings demolished, leaving the site vacant
• 2001 - Neighborhood Summit identified site for a neighborhood park
• 2006 - Completed remediation & construction, funding from EPA Brownfields, MA EOEEA, City of Lawrence & Bank of America
Dr. Nina Scarito Park
Dr. Nina Scarito Park
Manchester Street Park• Former incinerator
• 1990s - Community succeeded in closing the incinerator
• 2006 - Envisioned as a park
• 2009 – Ribbon-cutting ceremony
• 2010 & 2011 – 2 National Awards
Manchester Street Park
Spruce St. Vacant Lots
Spruce St. Community Garden
The Spicket River Greenway
Walkable Communities and Health Walking is beneficial to people's health, to community
vitality, and for the environment. Improves community interaction as people are more
likely to talk with neighbors and shop in local stores when they are walking through a community.
Provides easy, inexpensive and low-impact exercise that can improve the overall health of community residents.
Walking instead of driving protects environmental quality. Reducing vehicular emissions benefits plants, watersheds and the health of wildlife and people alike.
Walkable Communities and Economic Benefits
Housing Values are Higher Attract "New Economy" Workers Are becoming a Business Relocation Alternative Reduce Commuting Costs Cost the Taxpayer Less Attracts Tourists Can Capture an Emerging "Lifestyle" Retail Market
Source: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/downtowns/ltb/lets/0703ltb.html
Lesson learned: Challenges are Opportunities
Challenges• No Master Plan • Brownfields/Vacant lots • Illegal dumping• Flooding• Public Perception• Limited Access to Healthy Food• Limited Regional Cooperation
Opportunities• Open Space Plan • Dense, Walkable City• Mixed-Use Neighborhoods• Active Transportation• Open Spaces for Recreation & Exercise• Improved Environment (air, water, soil)
Connecting Public Health, Zoning & Community Development
Heather McMann, Groundwork Lawrence
(978) 974-0770 x7009
