Bogotá Healthy School Environment Pilot (EN)

In collaboration with Bogotá's Health Secretariat and Cities Changing Diabetes

Bogotá Healthy School Environment Pilot

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Novo Nordisk Inc (NNI) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NNAS) and completed as a collaboration between Gehl, Cities Changing Diabetes, Despacio, and local community organizations in Bogotá.

Novo Nordisk + Cities Changing Diabetes

Saúl Cardozo, Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Director

Julián Polanco, Sustainability Lead

Thomas Hilberg Rahbek, Senior Global Project Manager

Gehl — Making Cities for People

Jeff Risom, Chief Innovation Officer

Louise Kielgast, Director

Sophia Schuff, Director

Esben Neander Kristensen, Director

Candelaria Mas Pohmajevic, Project Manager

Aron Lesser, Urban Planner

Leila Jackson, Architectural Assistant

Kym Lansell, Landscape Architect

Martin Nelson, Technical Designer

Santiago Buendía, Urban Designer

Miriam Sode Alsteen, Urban Strategist

Despacio

Lina Quiñones, Healthy Cities Lead

Sergio Gómez, Project Manager

Miguel Ángel Cuellar, Urban Planner

Maryfely Malaver, Urban Designer

Executive Summary

This report synthesizes the process that Gehl led for the design and implementation of the Healthy Neighborhood Pilot in San Luis–a peripheral neighborhood in Bogotá where people increasingly suffer from obesity and diabetes.

The pilot was the result from a Foodscape Assessment and Strategy developed in 2020 by Gehl. It was carried out in partnership with the Health Secretariat of the city, Despacio, and funded by Novo Nordisk. The project team designed a public space intervention to improve the health outcomes of the residents of San Luis following a thorough community engagement process

led by Despacio–a local urban research NGO–and 3 local community organizations. Through public space interventions and activations, the pilot project seeks to achieve:

● Increased access to information and healthy food offer and habits

● Higher levels of physical activity in the public realm

● More social interactions in the public realm

Improvements in the physical qualities of the public realm can positively impact on people's health and wellbeing by nudging them towards healthier behaviors, more sustainable decisions, and an increased sense of belonging.

The pilot, located next to San Luis's public school, builds on the existing character and community efforts of the area and boosts the health of its residents by providing dignified spaces to access health information, carry out active

1. People reading from the information hub located in the pilot

2. The finalized healthy mural developed by community members and local muralists

The local team A multi-actor process

Cities Changing Diabetes Bogotá Health Secretary Despacio Local partners

We believe that urban environments significantly impact how people live, work, travel, and eat, among others, which are key factors that influence our health.

Cities Changing Diabetes is a global programme that is built on three interconnected elements that enable cities to map the challenges associated with obesity and diabetes, share key insights and learnings, and provide tools that can accelerate local action on the ground. This pilot is an extraordinary example of the deployment of these tools in order to encourage community-level solutions, cooperation, and innovative approaches to the challenge of diabetes and obesity in Bogotá.

To address community wellness, we need alternatives that go beyond the regulation of ultra-processed foods and health education. The Foodscapes approach is unique in making and testing changes in architecture, streets, public spaces that are already part of people's daily lives, inviting them to make healthy and autonomous choices.

Bogota's public policy on food security aims to "build food citizenship" which implies individual, collective, public and private transformation of food. This involves actions from multiple sectors to transform the food system of a city like Bogotá, where there are consumers, producers, food processors, as well as a complex social context.

Despacio is a research center that promotes quality of life in cities during all stages of the life cycle through applied research with an emphasis on challenging the intuitive.

For this project, based on the promotion of greater well-being for communities and individuals, we work to create public spaces that are safer, more comfortable, sustainable, participatory and promote healthier lifestyles.

The success of this pilot demonstrates that the work of revindicating the identity of the neighborhood, fostering a sense of belonging, within the framework of environmental care and food sovereignty, are the key points to continue this work in other sectors of Bogotá.

A group of committed citizens and organizations that spearheaded the efforts of the pilot on the ground providing their network, effort, and knowledge to build and run the pilot.

Maya tejedores de la tierra, local organization that cultivates local food in San Luis and hosts trainings and programs to teach people to grow food in the area.

Fuerza Ambiental foundation is dedicated to teach environmental management tools and strategies to local community members through year round activities.

OASIS by Fondacio supports the inhabitants of San Luis in the transition of legalizing the neighborhood as a formal jurisdiction of the city.

The challenge Obesity and overweight disproportionately affect children in San Luis

According to Bogotá's 2022 Health and Quality of Life Survey, almost 60% of the adult population in the city and 24% of children between 5 and 17 years old are overweight (OW) and obese (OB). In San Luis this trend is also true. Put in perspective, these figures are surpassing the world population of kids living with obesity and overweight.

Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death and disability in adulthood. But in addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and negative psychological effects.

Source: World Health Organization

The challenge

50% of the population in Bogotá is food insecure, San Luis is not the exception

Food insecurity in San Luis is inextricably connected to hyperlocal infrastructure and environmental shortcomings. Because of its lack of official designation as a city district, San Luis has minimal road connectivity and climate protection infrastructure.

Its insufficient road system, precarious homes on landslide-prone terrain, and a weak connection to the city center are worsened by unpredictable and increasingly severe weather conditions, leaving this community of 25,000 residents isolated from essential public services such as food, healthcare, education, and public spaces.

When heavy rain events hit the city, the La CaleraAvenue – the only artery that connects to the city center – is cut and people remain without access to basic services or provision of foods and other products

Heavy rains also affect the capacity of the neighbor to grow their own food

Bogota Healthy School Environment Pilot

The opportunity Support existing bottom-up endeavours in San Luis to address food insecurity

A group of committed residents are leading local initiatives to incentivize access to healthy foods and sustainability strategies to generate less dependency on products and services from other areas of the city. Although these initiatives bring positive impact, they're scattered across the territory and are difficult to access for all in the community. Together with the project partners, we identified key local leaders to participate in leading and implementing the pilot project.

MoraciCreek

"MAYA" COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

SELF SUFFICIENT HOME

"OASIS FONDACIO" ORGANIZATION

"MONTEVERDE" ENVIRONMENTAL SCHOOL

"FUERZA AMBIENTAL" ORGANIZATION

"ORELLANAS" ORGANIZATION

The site Around the Monteverde School with high levels of foot traffic, demographic diversity, and the school as a committed partner

To narrow down the study area and eventually identify a location for the pilot project, we carried out a thorough engagement process with key community members and a spatial survey on site that helped confirm the levels of foot traffic, safety, and spatial qualities of the area that would receive the pilot in the future.

The selected study area is central to the neighborhood and accessed by foot, public transit and private vehicles. It is well recognized by the neighbors because of the Monteverde School and surrounding retail offer that keep it alive and vibrant throughout the day.

Identified StudyArea

The indicators

% increase of foot traffic

< Stickiness rates

Public Life

We defined a suite of methods and the criteria to evaluate the desired impact of the pilot through a matrix that sought to describe the connection between public space and health outcomes.

We departed from the question: How do Public Space, Public Life, and Food Places inform people's health choices in San Luis?

Public Space

< Age and gender diversity

< Women and kids present

Improved quality of public space

Increased healthy food consumption

< physical activity and active mobility

# of kids staying after school hours

# of seating options and invitations to eat food

# of food-related activities, programs, events, interventions

# of elements that offer protection

Improved sense of safety in public realm

Increased frequency of public space use generally

Greater availability of healthy, fresh foods around the school

Healthy food available at key times of day

Food Places

% difference of people aware of local food grown in the area

# of people inspired to support a local agriculture project

# of local food growers willing to sell products locally

On site data collection (PSPL)

Food Place

Mapping

12 Quality Criteria

A combination of health-based Public Space, Public Life, and food indicators guided the desired impact of the pilot

Project goals Three measurable goals to improve people's health

#01 Increase access to information and healthy food offer and habits

● Connect school initiatives and local organizations with residents

● Increase community involvement in neighborhood initiatives

● Raise awareness of the impact of diet on health

● Increase number of people eating healthy food (per the NOVA classification system) in the public realm

#02 Boost levels of physical activity in the public realm

#03 Foment social interaction in the public realm

● Create opportunities for outdoor and active recreation

● Increase the active stay of people of different ages

● Increase the daily flow of pedestrians and people who remain in public space

● Encourage social exchange in the public sphere around activities

● Increase the sense of belonging and the levels of perception of security

● Improve the perception of cleanliness of the public realm around the school

Pilot Process

A three-year commitment to address food access and community health in Bogotá

Neighborhood Foodscape Analysis

Eight-month process supported by Cities Changing Diabetes with community leaders assessing neighborhood food environments

Novo Nordisk Foodscapes Round Table

Gehl and the Public Health

Secretariat discussed the importance of the urban environment in generating healthy food consumption patterns

Food Rights Workshop in

Healthy School Environment Pilot

A two-day event and masterclass with urban experts and City agencies on Bogotá's Food Rights challenges and solutions to address them with a cross-functional approach

A public realm improvement intervention at a school in Bogotá to encourage health prevention, improve physical activity, and encourage healthy food consumption and social interaction

Co-creating design solutions for Bogotanos in need of better health outcomes

Project partners studied and surveyed a total of five neighborhoods in Bogotá's periphery since 2020. This pilot project, centers in the San Luis Chapinero neighborhood, which presents similar challenges to the other neighborhoods assessed in the previous studies.

A set of criteria set by the Health Secretary of Bogotá was used to select the study neighborhoods. The criteria assessed the health risk level of the population living in the city informed by income and education levels, access to city-wide services, and health indices.

Gehl analyzed city databases, conducted desk research, and did interviews with experts that informed our approach to identifying risk in communities with needs. The findings can be found here.

A collaborative project process

FONDACIO + FUERZA

AMBIENTAL

BOGOTÁ

MONTEVERDE SCHOOL

COMMUNITY BOARD RENACER

2 Pilot methodology

We conducted a foodscapes study in San Luis to center people's lived experiences

1

Data

Narrative-driven user journeys

A data driven approach to understanding the local context of where everyday behaviors happen through a multi-stakeholder planning process.

Rather than things and artifacts, we engage with experiences, stories and narratives.

Neighborhood-level interventions that establish convenient, dignified and affordable food options

Stakeholder input

Evaluate success against long-term value creation indicators together with local stakeholders

Use success criteria and momentum from the pilot to attract larger infrastructure investment, policy change, & more.

Bogota Healthy School Environment Pilot

We identified three zones to carry out observations and narrow down the location of the pilot project

We broke down the survey into three areas to better understand the dynamics of the location and their potential to receive the pilot project intervention.

Zone 1, home to the regional school Monteverde. Zone 2, a commercial and transportation link within San Luis. And Zone 3, a quiet neighborhood street with residential character.

We applied the measure, test, refine methodology for piloting change in San Luis

“Measure-test-refine“ is an iterative process that enables an evidence-based approach to placemaking where people can experience change at a 1:1 scale.

Data should be qualitative and quantitative including pedestrian counts and flows, types of stationary activities and user diversity and demographics.

Public Space

Survey what public space characteristics matter with qualitative and quantitative assessment tools–from the number of benches, to the function and quality of facades of surrounding buildings.

User Experience and Needs

Investigate what people aspire to and imagine for their local places. Intercept surveys help collect people’s experiences, rationale, stories, opinions, perceptions and needs.

needs. Test how the use of the public space changes when the physical environment is altered.

Feedback on Experiences

Based on the impact of the pilot project, investigate people’s reactions. Are users more or less happy to spend time in the public space? Are all socioeconomic groups represented?

Evaluate

Consider how the project has been successful, and the quality of feedback. Is there a basis for more testing or are you ready for permanent implementation?

and/or exemplary projects. More iteration = more learning = more chance of success.

Investment Benefits

Long-term projects can be more cost-efficient and resilient to unforeseen changes if their rationale and performance have been tested and evaluated in advance. If the first pilot project does not reach its goals, strive for more iterations.

Acceptance and Ownership

Projects that engage and resonate with people’s real needs are more likely to be adopted by the community. This better ensures ‘buy in’ for long term use and therefore a more successful project.

We engaged with San Luis residents in different forms

Five 1:1 sessions with community leaders and city agencies

We interviewed 5 community leaders representing the school, the Community Board, local businesses, and community organizations to further assess local priorities and needs. We also reached out to the head of the Mobility Secretary to get their support throughout the pilot.

Public Space and Public Life Study

Despacio and local volunteers surveyed 3 areas around the school using Gehl's digital observation tools on public life and public space and the 12 Quality Criteria for public space. The activity was carried out for two days in January 2023 to gather baseline data and repeated in May 2023 after the pilot was installed and running to measure the impact of the intervention. The latter data gathering exercise was led by Gehl on site and conducted on the pilot area exclusively. As data was collected on more occasions in the post-pilot survey, data from June 1 and 3 was used for staying activity and May 24 and 27 for moving when directly comparing with pre-pilot data, to have equally many hours of survey in the comparison.

Observational survey - total counts

Numbers displayed below are a summary of all people observed across all zones and dates pre and post intervention. Pre-pilot data includes 3 zones.

Observational survey dates and times:

26 January 08-15

28 January 08-15

18 May 09-13

20 May 09-12

24 May 09-15

25 May 09-16

27 May 09-13

01 June 08-15

03 June 08-15

Food Place Mapping

We conducted a mapping exercise in San Luis to count the number of food vending options available in San Luis, their operating hours, the food on offer, and the aspirations of the vendors to possibly sell healthier food options. 19 vendors were interviewed at the end of January, 2023.

Intercept Surveys

In tandem with the Public Space and Public Life Study, the project team carried out conversational intercept surveys with local food vendors and passersby to reveal lifestyle and lived experience patterns in San Luis.

Public Space and Public Life Observations

116 respondents pre-pilot all zones

43 people surveyed pre-pilot zone 1

55 respondents post-pilot zone 1

What food did you eat the last 24 hs?

What challenges do you experience when buying fresh produce?

Do you believe your food choices affect your health?

Luis

After the site survey, Despacio led a workshop in the school to gather students' input on their expectations and visions for the pilot project. Parallelly at Gehl, we hosted a multidisciplinary charrette where we sketched the spatial components of the pilot based on the feedback from the on-site workshop.

We hosted and led a series of co-design sessions, internally with our design team, and externally with the School community in San

Students sketched traffic calming elements, street trees, and trash cans

Ideation session at Gehl

Site Selection & Pre-pilot Observations

The result from our community engagement and spatial observation activities in San Luis. All findings are aligned with the project objectives.

Zone 1 was selected as the pilot project site

The baseline survey was conducted throughout the three survey zones. This slide shows a summary of the Public Life seen in all of them, a detailed overview can be found in the Appendix. Zone 1 was selected as the pilot location because of:

● Stickiness levels: It's the place that attracts the largest numbers of people to stay.

● Demographic Diversity: The presence of community members of diverse ages, gender, and walks of life would allow us to reach a wider audience in the neighborhood.

● Strategic alliance: The School is a potential local partner that could operate and oversee the pilot project.

Zone 1 is the most "sticky" – the school attracts more people to stay for each person who walks by, it is also the most demographically diverse zone.

Zone 3 is a residential street, with very little foot traffic, few children and women in public spaces

Zone 2 is a transit and commercial area–the people who are there decide to take the bus but do not decide to spend their time there.

Public space is limited and doesn’t provide opportunities for spending time outdoors

When people are out in the public realm, it contributes to generating increased social cohesion, feelings of better mental health and perceptions of safety–all of these factors advance better health outcomes

Social activities are important drivers of a healthy public life. Streets in San Luis accommodate for socializing around, but in spite of the food vending options, snacking and eating outdoors are very rare. Communal eating enhances sense of belonging and feelings of wellbeing. When we asked several people in San Luis, we heard that the quality and cleanliness of the public realm drives the low numbers of people eating outside.

The

One of the interviewed neighbors said: “It feels dirty, and it is not pleasant to spend time here”

No table and chairs next to food vending options

Food-related activities are minimal due to the lack of cleanliness and amenities to seat and eat comfortably

Large vehicles and speedy motorcycles increase unsafety

Stray dogs

People use the streets and neighborhood arteries to connect and commute, but for the most part, the streets and public spaces are empty.

A mix of street unsafety and very few incentives to stay and spend time outside comfortably reduce the number of people outdoors. Only 1 out of 10 people were seen seating, 44% of them seat on ledges.

During weekdays, the school area sees a peak of 61 people moving at noon, but soon after that, the number drops to 3. The neighborhood is unable to nudge people to stay longer or irradiate that energy to other areas.

Steep and narrow sidewalks are difficult to navigate

Ledges are the main seating infrastructure

The street is the busiest during school recess, but no one stays around after that Standing -

Sidewalk clutter obstructs flow

People don't spend time outdoors due to lack of seating, large vehicle presence, low-quality amenities and sidewalk clutter

85%

Sitting - 14%

Lying - 1%

Total people counted: 620

Only children were seen being active, four between 0-4 and two between 5-14

Throughout the survey we only saw 6 kids engaging in active playing. Due to the lack of parks and plazas, kids play mostly on the streets, where it's dangerous because of the presence of vehicles and public transport. Instead, unhealthy habits such as smoking are more prevalent in San Luis–even young kids perform this activity. Smoking is linked to increase illness risks in adulthood, whereas physical activity can reduce the risk of disease.

15 people were seen smoking and only 6 people were seen playing

The space doesn’t attract a diverse group of people to stay and be active, unhealthy habits such as smoking are

2.5X more common than playing on the street

Kids play soccer after school on the street intersection

Map of kids playing and adults smoking

No playing activities around the school

Breakdown of age and gender of people staying

There is a gap between the demand and supply of healthy foods in San Luis

Consumers and sellers agree that fresh food is on demand, but offering it is complicated–the logistics are costly and storing produce requires large refrigerated spaces that aren't available in San Luis

9 out of 10 vendors interviewed indicated that their customers want fresh products

89% of people interviewed ask for fresh products

77% of the interviewed consumers look for a variety of products such as fruit, vegetables and fish

The difficulty of storage and the high cost of fresh food due to transportation and storage were identified as the main limitations for vendors to sell fresh food. Inflation makes access to healthy food options even more difficult.

Healthy food offer in San Luis is minimal–it's challenging and expensive to transport and store it safely impacting on its quality and cost

Food offer in San Luis is not only limited but unhealthy, especially around the school, where snack carts sell their products to kids that walk by daily.

One major contributing factor to unhealthy outcomes is the low water intake. For every place that sells bottled water in the neighborhood, there are two that offer sweet sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages. The public realm isn't equipped with water fountains and the school lunch menu offers ultra-processed snacks and beverages to kids.

Storefronts

are cluttered with ultra-processed foods advertising, nudging consumers

In San Luis, 46% of all the food offerings are unhealthy options and it worsens around the school with many kiosks in close proximity

Awareness of existing urban agriculture initiatives in the neighborhood is low

There are varied community-led initiatives to engage in food agriculture in San Luis, but neighbors know very little about them and they are difficult to access and get to their programming activities

Do you know community members and/or initiatives around cultivating fresh produce in San Luis or in La Calera?

There are varied initiatives in San Luis that attempt to address the food deserts through urban farming and agriculture.

The Monteverde School owns a produce garden, but it's closed off to the community. Local organizations like Maya tejedores de la tierra and Fuerza Ambiental offer urban gardening courses and activities, but participation is very low because they are hard to get to or it's difficult to find out about them.

Only 1/3 of the interviewed people knew about the initiatives

If you had the opportunity to participate in a local farming initiative, how would you like to participate?

84% of the interviewed people want to engage with the local initiatives

Only ⅓ of the interviewed people know about the local food agriculture initiatives in San Luis– but 84% would like to engage with local initiatives

Urban garden in San Luis

Healthy School Environment Pilot

How might we promote healthy habits in San Luis to improve health prevention and advance food access?

5 Strategies to build a Healthy School Environment

Include elements that increase the sense of comfort

inviting people to stay around the school like vegetation, trees, flowers, and shelter for harsh weather conditions

Physical infrastructure

engage with inspiring their curiosity like tables and chairs, a vertical fruit and herbs garden, a covered bus stop, a farmers market

Healthy School Environment Pilot Design

Vertical garden

Planters with trees

Protected bus stop with bench to recline while waiting

Healthy School Environment Pilot Design

Green Bus Stop Planted flowers

Sidewalk Playscape

Healthy School Environment Pilot Design

Wooden Pergola for the Bus Stop Plants

Bench to recline

Educational Mural Vertical Garden

Participa del proyecto piloto de San Luis!

Calendario de eventos y activacione s

Communication Hub

Ganadores del concurso

Four curated activities and health-related events brought life to the street and engaged residents

Health check-ups at the School

The pilot hosted one event of the existing 'Cuídate y sé feliz' program led by the Health Secretary where residents from remote locations get complementary health check ups in the public practitioners visited San Luis to monitor health

Participative mural painting

Led by a local muralist and school kids

The school donated a portion of their entrance wall for an educational mural that would inspire healthy lifestyles in the neighborhood. It was designed by a local muralist and painted in collaboration with school kids.

UNICEF Health Prevention Toolkit Application

Led by UNICEF

Novo Nordisk invited UNICEF Bogotá to host a session in the school to provide guidance to teachers and students on prevention centered around their Healthy Lifestyle Strategy. This workshop was the first step for the school to adapt their curriculum to UNICEF's framework to promote healthier habits and learnings in the classroom environment.

Educational walking tours

Led by Maya tejedores de la tierra and Fuerza Ambiental

Two community-led initiatives engaged with local residents, students, and teachers to incentivize the awareness of food growth opportunities in the neighborhood as well as waste management techniques to reduce contamination and improve cleanliness in the public realm.

Assessing the impact of the Pilot Project

We tested the pilot's success in addressing the three project goals

#01 Increase access to information and healthy food offer and habits

Desired impact:

● More people are aware of available food related initiatives in the area

● More people understand the impact of their daily diet on health

● More people eat healthy in the public realm

#02 Boost levels of physical activity in the public realm

#03 Foment social interaction in the public realm

Desired impact:

● More people exercise or play outdoors

● Wider demographic diversity is present in the area around the school

● More people decide to stay and spend time in the public realm around the school

Desired impact:

● More people socializing in the public realm

● Perception of unsafety and lack of cleanliness decreases

● People feel more welcome and their sense of belonging increases

The lack of an outdoors public space trumped the pilot goal of hosting a Farmers Market

Through our previous Public Space and Public Life survey, we learned that there is minimal public space available in San Luis and its quality and accessibility are very low.

As a main driver for the pilot, we aimed to integrate a Farmer's Market as one of its main activations to increase healthy food availability in the area. After a public space assessment led by the Economic Development Secretary–the agency in charge of rolling out the Farmers' Market– the initiative was rejected because the only public park identified for the event had insufficient characteristics to host a public market in San Luis.The agency provided a detailed report outlining the shortcomings of the public realm pointing out many of the issues that Gehl identified in the spatial survey carried out at the beginning of the project.

This further accentuated the importance of better quality public spaces in remote neighborhoods when it comes to food access.

“We found that the park is not viable for the realization of a Farmers Market, taking into account that it does not meet the conditions of access and installation required for the market's assembly.”

Bogota Healthy School Environment Pilot

GOAL

Food activities went up by 240%–the pilot encouraged more and healthier eating habits around the school

Eating around the school or in any open space in the neighborhood is hard–the lack of infrastructure, chairs and tables to eat comfortably, and the presence of trash, bad odors, and loose dogs disencourage people to do so.

During the pilot, we saw increased food-related activities. Although discrete, the pilot project area became a comfortable platform for people to eat healthier.

5 10 12

Food activity before the pilot

Food activity during the pilot

Food offer increased but unhealthy options on sale prevailed

As the public realm around the school improved with the pilot, we saw that it attracted more food vendors to the area, increasing the food offer. But by taking a closer look we realized that the quality of the food being sold was very low, composed mainly of ultra-processed foods and sugary snacks.

Having a Farmers Market–as planned during the design stages of the project–would have helped balance the quality of the food offer in the area, possibly triggering healthier eating habits in the community.

San

health

The project strived to bring health-based services to San Luis to provide access to information and medical advice.

During the Healthy Neighborhood Environment pilot, we organized a health check up event in the school to attract people in the neighborhood who might need assessment and care.

The school leveraged its central location and its role as a social agent in San Luis to provide health services in the neighborhood. Minors couldn't receive the service due to privacy concerns.

More than 60% said that they couldn't remember their last check-up or that it had happened a year ago or more

I don’t remember

Less than three months ago

Three months ago

Six months ago

A year ago

More than a year ago

27 people from

Luis got a

check up–60% of them hadn't had one in more than a year

GOAL

The protected bus stop became an information hub for the community where information about health-related activities and their benefits were displayed. Together with the public space interventions, they influenced people's perception of the impact their diets have in their wellbeing increasing awareness in the community.

51% up from 37% said that diet contributes to health outcomes and chronic health diseases

pilot

Almost 40% more people recognized that their dietary choices affect health outcomes, including chronic illnesses

Before pilot

changes to their lifestyles

Developing healthy eating habits not only depends on the availability of healthy food or a high-quality public realm in the neighborhood. It also depends on people's level of awareness and education on the matter so they can be equipped to choose what's best for them.

After the pilot project activations,people said they felt more motivated to make changes to their lifestyles to improve their wellbeing.

30% felt inspired to increase their physical activity

60% were inspired to introduce healthy foods into their diets

90% thought the activity could impact their daily habits

People experienced more positive feelings and attitudes towards themselves and felt empowered to introduce

The street invited for active mobility and play– more than 3X people were seen walking and

the number of children playing increased by 50%

During the pilot, more children were playing around the school, and a larger percentage of people were seen walking on the street outside the school.

Although, the number of people cycling remains the same as before the pilot, and there are no other physical activities registered around the school, we're confident that the pilot installations nudged more people to stay active–especially the kids who interacted with the play features.

Also, the intercept survey shows that more than a third (35%) of the children under 15 feel very welcome around the pilot!

During the pilot we saw more than 3X the number of pedestrians present in the area

639

Map of kids playing after the pilot was built throughout the entire duration of the pilot

The amount of children playing has gone up from 6 to 9

177

Before During

Date pre-pilot: Jan 26 and 28

Date post-pilot: May 24 and 27

Time: 08-15

Sense of unsafety in the public realm around the school decreased by 50%

More people (5%) felt welcome to the area around the school as a result of the improved public space qualities that contributed to an increased perception of safety and cleanliness, attracting more people to stay and spend time there.

The pilot drove a change in people's perception of the public realm around the school changing people's main concerns from basic safety in the public realm to issues around comfort and enjoyment. After the pilot was installed, users demonstrated real interest on the pilot and requested to add a roof to the bus stop that was previously installed to protect from the rain and hail.

22%

more people felt that the space was pleasant

175%

more people perceive the space as clean or say that they like the cleanliness of the space

50% Safety as a concern decreased

Concerns after the pilot

Main concerns before the pilot

50% increase of kids presence

The space increased diversity–it attracted

50% more young kids and teens and 9% more women across the whole days

Age of people staying

Before During

9% more women were seen in the public realm

1.3% of all people present are smoking

Teens are still hard to attract

The pilot

Children play and interact with the pilot elements

More welcoming for parents and their kids

Percent of kids from 0-4 increased from 0.9% to 4.8%

introduced new dynamics–lunch time became more sociable for vulnerable groups, 7% more women and 5x more kids between 0-4 years

Looking Forward

The pilot was a platform for planning agencies to discuss how to approach health risks collaboratively

The pilot worked as a place of convening for different city agencies looking to increase collaboration. Some of the agencies included:

● Public Innovation Lab

● Colombian Society of Architects

● Health Secretary

● Secretary of Education

● Defendants of the Public Realm

● Mobility Secretary

This is a good foundation for continued work on place-based health initiatives in Bogotá

Looking forward

Our thorough assessment of San Luis before and after the Healthy School Environment Pilot revealed some critical areas of opportunity.

Build on the momentum of

Healthy School

the

Environment Pilot

Keep using the area around the school as a platform for community engagement and health based improvements extending the invitation to new user groups and throughout the times of day beyond school hours. Measure the impacts of the activations.

Continue to leverage the public realm to instill healthier behaviors

Instill better community health and behaviors through activations and interventions in key public areas in the neighborhood and around the city prioritizing communities at risk following health and public space data analyses.

Increase the amount and quality of the public realm to improve habits

Target key areas in the neighborhood to increase access to quality public space to enhance health related to physical activity, social connectedness, and healthy food offer. This step can be applied in other areas of the city where public space is scarce.

Build on the momentum of the Healthy School Environment Pilot

1. The school and the immediate neighbors appropriate the pilot to operate and maintain it (ongoing)

a. Moving tables and chairs, cleaning, support in the construction of a roof for the bus stop, watering and fertilizing plants

b. Refreshing the mural with new content

c. Organizing activities in the public realm outside the school leveraging lunch prime time

d. Updating the content of the information hub regularly to share local initiatives and programs

2. The school adopts UNICEF's curriculum and toolkit for health based education

a. Ask UNICEF to get involved and follow up wit the school

b. Provide assistance and monitor the evolution of the curriculum development and adoption

3. Measure the use of the public realm regularly using public life observation tools

4. Reroute the buses and trucks (at least one way) to minimize exposure to nocive fumes and noise in the school

● Stakeholders:

→ School (teachers, students, maintenance)

→ Neighbors

→ Community organizations and artists

→ Despacio (to conduct PSPL surveys and check in with partners)

→ UNICEF (to conduct follow ups with the school)

→ Mobility Secretary (to reroute buses)

● Next Steps:

→ Continue the conversation with the local stakeholders

→ Follow up with UNICEF and the school

→ Engage with the Mobility Secretary to explore modified bus routes that help minimize kids' exposure to contaminants around the school

Continue to leverage the public realm to instill healthier behaviors

For more impact, this initiative can be implemented in other areas of the city

1. Creation of a Public Space Stewardship Program

a. To nurture a new generation of committed citizens that understands the importance of well maintained, clean, and inclusive public spaces and can incentivize others to care for it

b. Partner with the school (social service) and the community board to instill a sense of responsibility over the new public realm through after school and weekend programs of cleaning and maintenance

2. Improvement of the healthy food offer around the school

a. Incentivize local food vendors and producers to sell healthy foods around the school

b. Test a Healthy Food operator in the school to improve the quality of food sold and provided to school kids

c. Partner with the Health Secretary, local food vendors, the school, and the Economic Development Secretary to make this possible

● Stakeholders:

→ School (teachers, students, maintenance)

→ Economic Development Secretary

→ Health Secretary

→ Community leaders

→ Bernard Van Leer Foundation (key partner)

● Next Steps:

→ Identify key neighbors of different ages to lead, coordinate, and implement the Public Space Stewardship Program

→ Initiate conversations with the Economic Development Secretary to identify main challenges and opportunities to collaborate in improving the food offer in and around the school

→ Map out other possible areas and neighborhoods in Bogotá and their stakeholders to promote healthy behaviors in other key public spaces throughout the city

Increase the amount and quality of the public realm to improve habits

1. Empty lots activation

a. Speak with owners of empty lots to explore the possibility of activating them in a way that helps create awareness around health

b. Try with some test projects like: protected vegetable garden, vegetable markets, healthy food stores, flex space for recreational activities outdoors

2. Improvement of the neighborhood park and main arteries

a. Leverage the expertise of the Public Space Stewards to improve the streets that connect the school and the neighborhood park, increasing safety and incentivizing more active mobility within the neighborhood

b. Improve the amenities, lighting, playground, and the cleanliness of the park and eradicate any drug related activities

c. Motivate the economic development agency to bring farmers markets to the area and partner with them.

For more impact, this initiative can be implemented in other areas of the city

3. Implementation of a neighborhood trash management initiative

● Introduce composting and waste sorting programs led by local organizations in partnership with the city in charge of waste management

● Stakeholders:

→ Owners of empty lots

→ Public Space Stewards

→ Public Space Secretary

→ Mobility Secretary

→ Public Space Expert

● Next Steps:

→ Identify empty lots in the neighborhood, close to the school or community areas

→ Conduct a community survey to understand public space needs in the neighborhood

→ Initiate conversations with the public agencies to support the processes and activities

X Appendix

Zone

953 people moving 1

10% Of all surveyed food places

Zone 1: Monteverde School

An atrium for the school, where people decide to stay longer

● Main neighborhood street

● Highest presence of kids

● Gender balanced

● More people decide to stay from those who pass by

● No healthy food offer

● Opportunity to impact the young population

● Opportunity to redistribute the street right of way to improve the public space experience

No places to sit or stay

High volumes of kids

The busiest and most transient corridor

GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS DETAILS

1800 people moving

260 people staying

80% Of all surveyed food places

Zone 2

14% of bypassers stay

Zone 2: Transit and commercial corridor

Bogota Healthy School Environment Pilot

Zone 2: Transit and commercial corridor

The busiest and most transient corridor

● Main commercial street

● Lower presence of kids

● Gender balanced

● Most food offer are along this corridor

● People decide not to stay here

● Very limited space for a public space intervention

A quiet neighborhood street

GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS

18% of bypassers stay

766 people moving

139 people staying

10% Of all surveyed food places

Zone 3

Zone 2: Residencial corridor

A quiet neighborhood street

● Typical neighborhood street with residential buildings and a few stores

● There is a gender imbalance, as only men are present

● Very few kids seen on the street

● There are some neighborhood services that invite people to stay, but not enough diversity

● Limited connectivity to main neighborhood streets for an intervention in the public realm