Iowa organizations join HSI to discuss walking and walkability.
DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Healthiest State Initiative hosted a Walking Workshop at the Wellmark YMCA on Tuesday, August 2, partnering with America Walks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Project for Public Spaces, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Public Health, and Iowa Economic Development Authority to discuss walking and walkability in Iowa’s communities.
One of the goals of the workshop was to strengthen relationships and strategic collaboration among IDPH, IDOT, IEDA and other partners. Among the group were Paul Trombino, Director of the Iowa Department of Transportation; Gerd Clabaugh, Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health; and Debi Durham, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
“Improving understanding between state agencies and various organizations is a big priority when making our communities more walkable,” said Ian Thomas, the State and Local Program Director with America Walks. “We spend a lot of time at state-level workshops like these trying to maximize collaboration between the groups.”
Much of the discussion at Tuesday’s workshop revolved around what each state agency and nongovernmental group is currently doing in their sector to promote a healthy, livable Iowa. All participants agreed there is a need for collaboration in making communities more walkable. The workshop also included discussions around practices and barriers, as well as walking audits in which participants evaluated the state of walkability in Des Moines.
“The CDC believes it is vitally important to get these statewide organizations together, and I was impressed with this group of Iowans’ commitment to collaborating on walkable communities,” said Tom Schmid, Lead Behavioral Scientist with the Physical Activity and Health branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The workshop comes ahead of the Healthiest State Initiative’s Oct. 5 state-wide annual walk, which aims at getting a walk in all 99 Iowa counties.
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The Healthiest State Initiative is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization driven by the goal to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation. By engaging worksites, communities, schools, retail food, organizations, institutions and individuals, we can inspire Iowans and their communities to improve their health and happiness, and ultimately achieve our goal. For more information, visit www.iowahealthieststate.com.
