Love Your Heart,
Love Your Community.
Love Your Heart? Love Your Community?
Citizen scientists across Tasmania have tested a simple Checklist that rates how walkable (and wheelable), welcoming and healthy our neighbourhoods are.
Three reports from this research are now available:
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Improving walkability in your local area starts with everyday community voices - read the 5 Tips to get you started
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A Community Summary of what we did, what we learned, and what difference it made
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The complete Final Report
Hello and welcome.
Citizen Science in action
The research was led by the Menzies Institute of Medical Research (University of Tasmania) and was funded by the National Heart Foundation of Australia. Over 100 Tasmanians joined the Love Your Heart, Love Your Community study. They provided insights to help us improve the Checklist and gather local data to inform local council planning for healthier streets.
Why is the environment in our neighbourhoods and suburbs so important?
The environments where people live, learn, work, play and age are important influences on healthy eating and physical activity. More walkable and wheelable environments support more active lifestyles and along with ready access to healthy foods. This decreases the risk of developing health conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. This is particularly important in Tasmania where physical activity levels are generally low, poor health is more common and access to healthy food is less predictable.