Fallon: "Smart Growth Could Help Obesity Problem"

I was saddened to read recently that Iowa and 48 other states are becoming more obese. Certainly, gaining weight and living healthy are topics that we all need to address personally, but there are also state, federal and local policies that affect obesity. Policy decisions on health care have obvious relevance, but Iowa’s urban growth laws also have placed Iowa behind the 8-ball in our struggle against obesity.

Presently, Iowa’s laws related to growth and development encourage and even subsidize urban sprawl. These laws are unfriendly to pedestrians and our communities’ neighborhood businesses, encouraging auto travel for even the simplest of tasks that formerly could be done by bike or on foot. It is significant that the only state which did not see its obese population grow last year is Oregon. What’s different about Oregon? Well, most importantly, their urban growth laws. Smart growth has been a priority in Oregon since 1975. Ten percent of Portland residents bike to work everyday.

Tied in with laws that protect farmland and encourage walkable communities is local food production. Farmer’s markets are alive and well in Oregon, and urban residents who patronize these markets tend to eat healthier.

Diet and exercise are critical to any effort to lose weight, and so is urban design. Perhaps Iowans can take a page from Oregon’s book and make our cities healthier places to live and work through state and local land-use policies that encourage smart growth, not urban sprawl.