Walking in LA
USC's Fall Prevention Center of Excellence spearheads a Walkability Workshop for the Fairfax District
By Jonathan Riggs
Photo by Anna Nguyen |
Just like people, neighborhoods age over time: streets and sidewalks experience wear and tear, which can increase safety risks for older residents and visitors. That’s why on October 27, the Fall Prevention Coalition - Los Angeles (FPC-LA) in collaboration with the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence at USC and the Center for Physical Activity and Prevention Institute hosted a Walkability Workshop along with the Fairfax Business Association and the National Council of Jewish Women.
“We used this Workshop as an example,” says Jon Pynoos, Ph.D., Program Director of FPC-LA. “We hope that it will have a ripple effect - that participants will take lessons back to areas that they live, areas that they work in, and areas where older people congregate.”
The four-hour Walkability Workshop included an interactive presentation of walkable community concepts, an expert-led walkthrough/analysis of Fairfax Avenue between Clinton Street and Beverly Boulevard, recommendations for improvement, and a discussion to establish priority issues.
“One of our biggest successes was getting everyone to the table,” says Anna Quyen Do Nguyen, OTD, OTR/L, Associate Program Director of FPC-LA. “We had representatives of elected officials, members from the local business association, and older adults who live nearby and frequent the area. There were many different perspectives and so much experience in the room!”
“Walkability” is a measure of how accessible an area is to pedestrians - barriers to walking, including uneven sidewalks, insufficient crosswalk times, and a lack of curb cuts can pose safety and fall hazards. The Fairfax District’s 90036 zip code ranks #5 among the zip codes with the highest fall-related hospitalization rates recently identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Falls are the leading cause of injury death among people over the age of 60, and falling and the fear of falling can lead to depression, isolation, and loss of independence for older adults, especially when their own neighborhoods may present unsafe conditions. However, falls can be reduced in the community with strategies such as marking uneven sidewalks or extending crosswalk times.
The organizers and participants say that this event was just the beginning - they plan to address what they found and keeping the momentum from the Workshop going.
“The Coalition is dedicated to taking what we discussed at the Workshop and creating a plan of action,” says Emily Nabors, MSG, Program Coordinator of FPC-LA. “We want to explore how to best address the priority issues we identified, who we should include in the process, and what’s most feasible.”
“Any time you benefit the citizens in one neighborhood, it is a success for the whole,” says attendee Mike Stifel, the Program Coordinator for the Eichenbaum Health Center, Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. “By reducing falls of the citizenry, you also reduce excess health care costs, possible lawsuits and other city expenses - it’s a win-win situation for all involved.”
Photo by Anna Nguyen |
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