Practicing urban acupuncture

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1458669350\/acx3m21xj8opvwtcctuf.jpg","id":"1281"}],"caption":"Wyandotte County ranks last in Kansas (98th out of 98 counties) in Social and Economic Factors Ranking, where 18,000 people there have low access to food and limited means of transportation. This map shows an unbalanced distribution of bus stops as related to food access points."}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1458669821\/db4lpuh32nhgte7khitn.jpg","id":"1321"}],"caption":"By simply redistributing the bus routes and better understanding the potential (and limited) food access points, the situation can be improved. With this sort of mapping and spatial visualizations, Dotte Agency has been able to open needed discussions between residents and policymakers."}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1458669882\/hetzqy71gpycdxtfpc5u.jpg","id":"1326"}],"caption":"As part of KU\u0027s program, hybrid trail elements (bench, bike rack, exercise equipment) have been designed, tested, and are currently being installed in a park that is in great need of improvement."}]],"markups":[["a",["href","http:\/\/www.publicinterestdesign.info\/dotte-agency.html","target","_new"]],["a",["href","http:\/\/www.surgeongeneral.gov\/library\/calls\/walking-and-walkable-communities\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","http:\/\/kumocolab.org\/","target","_new"]],["i"]],"sections":[[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"University-led teams are turning design and health research into reality"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Every day, more and more people are realizing that health isn\u0027t just what you put in your body, or what a doctor diagnoses. It\u0027s where you live, how far you walk, who you interact with, and what surrounds you. Inevitably, the question then becomes: How can architects, designers of the built environment, use those skills to improve our well-being?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"To help answer that question and more, the Design \u0026 Health Research Consortium was created in 2014. A joint project of the Architects Foundation, the AIA, and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, it invites university-led teams to translate research, develop tools for practicing professionals, and encourage the conversation on the intersection of design and health to blossom."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In March, members of the consortium convened in Princeton, N. J., to network and exchange ideas on the work they\u0027ve done so far. One of the groups convening was the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at Kansas University, where Shannon Criss is an associate professor of architecture."]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,0],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Criss\u2014an incoming member of the AIA\u0027s Design \u0026 Health Leadership Group\u2014is involved in numerous projects as part of a KU satellite collective group known as "],[0,[0],1,"Dotte Agency"],[0,[],0,", including works of \u201curban acupuncture\u201d aimed at determining the most helpful adjustments to problems a community may not realize it has. One of those involves remapping the bus system in nearby Wyandotte County to provide more access to healthy food options."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cThe research happens at a policy level,\u201d Criss says, \u201cunderstanding how the bus paths have been established. Then, from a user perspective, we determine what works and what doesn\u0027t.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,1],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The goal is to rethink the bus paths with consideration given to how they\u0027re used and what surrounds them. Can locals who ride these buses purchase healthy food on their way to and from their homes? Are the buses reachable on foot, but spread out enough to encourage light exercise?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cIt\u0027s a complex problem,\u201d Criss says, \u201cbut one that\u0027s based in a growing understanding of walking distances and commuter travel, and how they\u0027re both impacted by the built environment.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"This sort of work\u2014gathering and translating actionable research\u2014is step one in a process that\u0027s necessary for change. It\u0027s the current goal of the consortium, and it exemplifies an architect\u0027s ability to use design thinking and data to resolve challenges."]]],[10,2],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"That\u0027s something Criss\u0027s students focus on from day one; along with days holed up in classrooms pondering big thoughts, they\u0027re also tasked with putting boots on the ground and making improvements to the surrounding community. With the help of a \u201cmobile collaboratory\u201d\u2014actually a renovated RV\u2014parks are overhauled piece by piece. New benches and exercise equipment are added to slowly improving areas that have been known for shady dealings and trash-strewn fields. Greenhouses are constructed in abandoned lots, providing vegetables for areas that have previously been food deserts."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"And with the recent call to action from Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., on"],[0,[1],1," walkability and walkable communities"],[0,[],0,", it seems the work being done at KU is ahead of the curve. But while the nation\u0027s top physician takes on this major concern from the highest levels, the consortium wants to keep its focus on issues that local governments have not yet tackled yet, to show that architects can think beyond hospitals and healthcare facilities to see the impact of the built environment as a whole."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cIt\u0027s about finding those incremental changes,\u201d Criss says, \u201crather than feeling like the whole system has to be redesigned.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"For more on the work being done at KU, visit the homepage of the "],[0,[2],1,"KU Mobile Collaboratory"],[0,[],0,"."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"Steve Cimino is the digital content manager at the AIA."]]]]}