Street audits help residents get active

Local communities in Sheffield are set to become more physically active as they’ve worked with NHS Sheffield and Sheffield City Council to identify ways to make their local streets and green spaces safer, more attractive, and more likely to encourage people to get outdoors.

‘Do it yourself’ community street audits have been developed to help local people identify real local improvements that could be made to where they live. Small groups of local people walk the ‘audit’ area and look for the good and bad points along the way. Issues are then identified on large scale maps which are then used to produce a report.

The audits are taking place as part of the Sheffield – Let’s Change4Life programme. Carol Weir, Programme Director said: “The aim of the street audit training is to identify realistic changes that can be carried out by the community themselves in order to bring the streets back to life and make walking and cycling the most natural options for travel.

“Evidence shows that being outdoors encourages people to be more active.  Increasing physical activity is a key way of preventing the development of obesity in children and adults.”

The audit training is already having an impact in Sheffield’s communities. Residents in Lowedges have formed a new group to improve a local play area; in High Green, young mothers and older residents have organised their own audit of routes to their swimming pool just 2 weeks after being trained to do the audits and locals in Manor have set up a new walking group as a direct result of taking part in the audit.

Diane Cairns from the Manor & Castle Development Trust said: “In Manor and Castle we audited the main road and then the local residents went on to present their audit findings to councillors from around the city. It has really empowered all the locals that were involved”.

“One of main outcomes from the audit is that representatives of the audit group have initiated a new health walking group called the ‘Wanna Walkers’. The group formed at the end of January and now meets 3 times a week. “

By March 2010 eleven community groups in Sheffield will have received training on how to carry out street audits in their area through the ‘Sheffield – Let’s Change 4 Life Programme’.

Changes that have been identified include: improved street lightening, turning waste land into a football pitch, having ramped access to a local swimming baths and introducing a poop-a-scoop campaign.

The next steps for the community audit groups will be to proactively make the changes identified with the support of a designated project manager.

The experience of delivering Living Neighbourhoods in Sheffield featured as a case of good practice at the Living Streets Active Travel Conference last week in London.

Find out more about Street Audits.

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