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COLLABORATION

Healthy Cities by Design

COLLABORATION

Healthy Cities by Design

COLLABORATION

Healthy Cities by Design

Dr. Meghan Winters is an advocate for healthy cities where air pollution rates are
kept in check and residents engage in plenty of physical activity.

“I look at my work in terms of promoting physical activity rather than treating sickness,” says SFU’s Meghan Winters. As a population health researcher in the Faculty of Health Sciences, she looks at how urban design can encourage (or discourage) activity levels. “Incorporating more activity into our routines is crucial since inactivity is one of the biggest risk factors for many diseases,” she says.

Winters’ team at SFU’s Spatial Data Lab specializes in geospatial data measurement with the ultimate goal of facilitating more active transportation. An avid cycler herself, she collaborates with communities, city planners and advisory committees on complementary infrastructure projects and is also part of several SSHRC and CIHR-funded projects to identify best practices for promoting public health through walking, cycling, or transit across ages and abilities.

For example, BikeMaps.org is a collaborative effort by researchers at SFU and the University of Victoria that uses data submitted by cyclists worldwide via an app to map collisions, near misses, and bike thefts experienced on their commutes. This data is used to empower cyclists to plan safer routes and to push city planners to make infrastructure improvements. 

With Metro Vancouver consistently ranking as a highly-congested urban centre, with a rapidly growing population to boot, encouraging people to choose active transportation methods could reduce the number of cars idling in traffic and make a dent in the emissions associated with increased mortality from heart and respiratory-related conditions.

And, a 2013 study Winters co-authored suggested that it is more dangerous to walk or cycle in B.C. as compared to traveling by car (when adjusted for trip frequency), challenging common preconceptions about the safest ways to travel. She sees these findings as a call to action for cities to implement evidence-supported interventions, such as adding more crosswalks, streetlights and segregated bike lanes.

In addition to her work on bikeability, Winters is leading research to better understand what makes our neighbourhoods age-friendly. She and her team developed a documentary-style video titled “I’d Rather Stay” to explore the realities of growing older in one’s own home and neighbourhood. Targeting both stakeholder groups and the public, the film endeavours to direct attention to the challenges faced by cities when accommodating an aging demographic.

Such unwieldy issues of sustainability and public health require immediate, concerted and sustained effort. By sharing research-based knowledge of how cities across Canada can be made more bikeable, walkable and amenable to all age groups, Winters’ research is contributing to winning solutions.

References

Dr. Meghan Winters is an epidemiologist interested in the link between health, transportation, and city design. Her research focuses on ways that cities can play a role in promoting mobility and health for people of all ages and abilities. She has a focus on knowledge translation, including a partnership with the US company Walk Score to create “Bike Score”, now available for over 100 cities across North America, and a documentary-style video “I’d Rather Stay” which explores the realities growing older in one’s own home and neighbourhood.  Dr. Winters teaches courses in GIS and public health, health and the built environment, and epidemiologic methods. She has received fellowship and grant funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.    

Q & A with Meghan Winters

What motivates you as a researcher?

Our cities are changing around us every day. This brings infinite opportunities, small and large, to make decisions that could support healthier behaviours. I'm motivated to generate evidence and ensure it is shared with decision-makers to promote healthy communities. 

How important is collaboration in advancing research/new ventures? 

Absolutely critical. In my applied population health program, the research I do is motivated by questions raised by my partners: decision-makers in municipalities, health authorities and advocacy groups. Their engagement in the research process is essential to success and is fundamental to having impact intersectorally. 

How important is collaboration in advancing research?

Absolutely critical. In my applied population health program, the research I do is motivated by questions raised by my partners: decision-makers in municipalities, health authorities and advocacy groups. Their engagement in the research process is essential to success and is fundamental to having impact intersectorally. 

SFU bills itself as “Canada’s most engaged research university.” How does your own work exemplify this spirit of engagement? 

In addition to engaged research, I have also built this into my teaching. Through the CityStudio program I teach courses which connect SFU undergraduate students with City of Vancouver staff to address challenges in today's city building. These experiences are creative and eye-opening for our students, and enable them to tap into their energy and knowledge to suggest real-world solutions.