Houston Foodscape Strategy

Houston

Alief & Asiatown Community Foodscape Study

Contents + Credits This work was funded by Novo Nordisk Inc (NNI) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NNAS) and completed in partnership with Cities Changing Diabetes and Hope Clinic in Houston.

Novo Nordisk + Cities Changing Diabetes Bo Wesley, Global Prevention and Health Promotion Louise Hesseldal, Global Project Lead Karin Gillespie, Director, Alliance Development and US Project Lead Klaus Madsen, Lead Stakeholder Engagement Consultant Mojisola Delano, Foodscapes Study Coordinator Hope Clinic Andrea Caracostis, Chief Executive Officer Joseph Brozovich, Culinary Program Coordinator Concepcion Camarillo, Community Centered Health Home Coordinator Gehl — Making Cities for People Jeff Risom, Chief Innovation Officer Sophia Schuff, Project Manager Olivia Flynn, Urban Designer Jonna Ekholm, Architect Archie Cantwell, Architect

01 Approach

Why is studying foodscapes relevant?

02 Project background

How do we study food behavior and public space?

03 Insights

What are the links between the built environment and people’s food behavior in Houston?

04 Strategy

How might we improve access to food and shift diets?

01 Approach

Executive Summary

“

More than 422 million people worldwide have diabetes. If we are to change the trajectory of the disease, a clinical response is essential but not enough.

We must turn our imagination towards social factors and cultural determinants to design new and different interventions.

- ‘Urban Diabetes, Understanding the Challenges and 0pportunities ‘ Cities Changing Diabetes

Our collaboration with Cities Changing Diabetes, and this foodscape study starts with two simple questions: what is the relationship between the food system and the urban environment, and how might we achieve a positive dietary shift at the neighborhood level through local interventions and strategies? This report is the culmination of a seven-month collaboration with Cities Changing Diabetes (CCD) and three of their network cities - Bogota, Houston and Philadelphia.

The aim of this work is to investigate, measure, and develop intervention concepts for CCD’s local city partners in their efforts to contribute to quality of life and food security. CCD’s program is a unique initiative that leverages civil society, city administrations, businesses and practitioners to find innovative and actionable

solutions to improving health outcomes and promote positive health behaviors.

This report describes our study motivations, methods of data collection and community involvement, key comprehensive findings specific to each city, and recommendations for each city’s local partner for food environment improvements and guidance on how to get started today.

Overall, a foodscape study is the analysis of the food places, the public life, and the public space that makes up a specific environment.

It is the process of understanding three realms of influence over a foodscape; how individual people, businesses, and institutions shape the foodscape. We found that there is a strong correlation between the built environment and urban systems on people’s everyday

food consumption. Urban systems provide different levels of choice, access, transit connectivity, civic participation and enjoyment.

The urban system is intrinsically linked to the food system, as it also contributes to a societally recognized food culture, the visibility of demand, and the diversity of food offerings available to people.

We found that when people live in a highly dense residential area with few food options, the opportunity to intervene with food related interventions is high. Conversely, when people live in a highly dense residential area with an abundance of food options around every corner, the likelihood of an intervention to shift dietary norms is less straight forward. The analysis revealed that regardless of how many food options are available in the cities

surveyed, people still express desire and the wish for healthy affordable options.

These measures revealed that a context specific approach is needed to ensure interventions succeed.

Studies of food habits in relation to the built environment are still largely lacking. Collecting this data is incredibly useful to continue to bring human stories and people-centered data into the conversation.

The report concludes by offering recommendations to Cities Changing Diabetes and each city’s local partner about ways to implement, fund, design and program activities to improve the food environment. These recommendations come in the form of pilot project concepts, and a pathway for how these concepts can lead to achieving bold visions and lasting impact.

Why is studying foodscapes relevant?

Food and Cities

Food and identity

Food and Visual Cues

The general health of a population rests on food security. Being food secure means the ability to be sure you can access enough nutritious food to sustain your quality of life, stay healthy and participate in society.

Food is a vehicle for expressing one’s culture. It has the power of being both a biological necessity, and a symbolic cultural signifier. Because food has the capability of expressing one’s identity, it serves an important social purpose and may be a tool to solving many urban inequalities. This is something that those working with food environments can leverage to improve health outcomes.

The environment around us supports certain habits and prevents others.

Reduced access to fresh ingredients or prepared meals is a leading cause of lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and more.

Due to the industrialization of the food system, many of the cultural and social benefits of food have become invisible. Yet humans are driven by common understanding, culture and community. It is within this context that the environment in which foods are grown, processed, distributed, and eaten, should be elevated to the same importance as the food itself.

• Advertising and signage

Historically, the picture of a community’s food security was based on one’s economic means and distance from home to the grocery store. Yet now we know much more. An intricate system of disinvestment in public realm quality, dwindling social programs, inefficient distribution systems, social isolation, broken mobility networks and a lack of affordable housing constitute the social and cultural determinants of health.

Therefore, responses to addressing systemic food insecurity must overlap, involve a diverse range of stakeholders and exist up and down the ladder from on the ground-action to policy.

Throughout our research we discovered a number of urban characteristics that when combined, induce a predominant consumption of processed and ultra processed food.

• Proximity of ultra processed food & fast food outlets to transit nodes • Proximity of ultra processed food & fast food outlets to home • Perception of travel time to local fruit and vegetable retailers • Time scarcity associated with modern life driving people to convenience stores with longer opening hours

If we study the food rituals that unfold within everyday spaces, and the quality • Trust and social relationships of those spaces, we may begin to unlock between food retailers and the necessary ingredients for making a customers foodscape that works well, for all!

What are the components of a foodscape?

Corner stores

The local food bank

GR

EE

NM

AR

Picnic spots

KE

T

CCaa féfé

What is a Foodscape?

The foodscape is one’s surrounding environment, and defines the food experience of neighborhoods and communities. It is comprised of: - Food Places - Public Life - Public Space Food Places Food places are a direct interface between the food system at a macro level, and the consumer on the individual level. Food places aren’t only grocery stores, restaurants or cafés but are a vast network of services from food banks to farmers markets, and corner stores to street vendors.

Farmers market

city wide benefits. A vibrant public life is an indicator of a city or place that is successful in an economic, social and environmental sense.

Su

per

Ma

rke

t

Take-away & cafes

Food places

BBQ with friends

Waiting for the bus

For the food system, public life places an essential role in influencing food behaviors.

Public Space Public space is the city network on which public life takes place. It is the streets, plazas, parks and city spaces between buildings. The quality of public space often determines the perception of public safety and security, helps foster community cohesion, and sets the framework for activities or programs and how they invite people outside.

Shopping for groceries GR

EE

NM

AR

KE

T

Playing with children

Public life CCaa fféé

BU

S

NE

WS

Su

per

Ma

rke

Plazas & squares

t

Parks Civic places

Third spaces

Public Life

The combination of high quality public spaces and nutritious and accessible Public life is what people create when food offerings can create the right they connect with each other in public spaces. It is about the everyday activities conditions for healthier food behaviors. that people naturally take part in when they spend time with each other outside of the home, car, or workplace.

Fostering a robust public life produces a ripple effect of neighborhood and

BU

S

NEW

S

Sidewalks & Streets

Public Space

How do we intervene in the foodscape?

1

Data Collection A data driven approach to understanding the local context of where everyday life happens through a multistakeholder planning process.

Aiming for Lasting Change We create lasting change in the foodscape by building upon data and human stories. We identify how public space, food places and public life intersect and create a neighborhood’s unique conditions.

Using this clear evidence basis, we provide an ambitious Healthy Foodscape Strategy. The strategy is a vision for the future, and depends on a multi-sectoral approach where individuals, institutions and businesses all gain to benefit.

Piloting to Get Started Pilot projects and prototypes are a tool to make the case for long-term impact and change. A pilot is a much less costly and risky way to meet people at eye-level and test various solutions and ideas. It is an effective dialogue tool that can build upon existing opportunities.

Once a pilot is implemented, it changes incrementally based on what you learn from users. The more feedback and iterations a pilot goes through, the more you can use its successes to support long-term investment.

2 Understanding

User Experience Rather than things and artefacts, we engage with experiences, stories and narratives.

3 Develop Healthy Food Strategy

4 Test With Pilot Projects

Interventions that start to achieve the foodscape strategy on a small scale at the neighborhood level. Pilots can help make the case for the larger, longer-term investments needed.

6 Scale Strategy For City Wide Impact

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

Based on the stories we find from observation and engagement, we develop a series of strategies to achieve 'lasting impact’ in a neighborhood.

Delight

5 Evaluate & Set Criteria For Success

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

Comfort Safety

BOGOTÁ, Colombia Population: 7,181 million Area: 4 peripheral neighborhoods Density: 6,918/km2 Areas Surveyed: 16

HOUSTON, USA Population: 2,31 million Area: Southwest Houston Density: 1,398.76/km2 Areas Surveyed: 7

PHILABUNDANCE COMMUNITY KITCHEN

Which urban form characteristics lead to food habits that can prevent lifestyle diseases?

CITY-WIDE DENSITY

We looked at three cities - each with high levels of diabetes and other lifestyle diseases, but unique in their geography, culture, available amenities and priorities in addressing food insecurity.

HIGH DENSITY

Urban typologies across three CCD cities

PHILADELPHIA, USA Population: 1,579 million Area: North Philadelphia Density: 4,554.76/km2 Areas Surveyed: 11

LOW DENSITY

BOGOTA NEIGHBORHOODS HOUSTON ALIEF/ ASIATOWN

LACK OF FRESH FOOD

NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD DIVERSITY & DENSITY

VARIED & HEALTHY OFFER

02 Project Background

This matrix helps compare each city across their unique urban forms and level of food insecurity and acts as a pathway to defining what interventions are best suited to each neighborhood.

CITY-WIDE DENSITY LOW DENSITY

We draw connections between the built environment and people’s everyday food behavior in three cities of different scales and food offering. We see four main strategies for nudging people towards healthy food behaviors.

HIGH DENSITY

Meeting communities where they are High Density Food Desert

High Density Varied Food Offer

Focus on increasing access to healthy food and improving the mobility experience

Focus on creating a positive food environment and making the healthy choice the easy choice

Low Density Food Desert

Low Density Varied Food Offer

Focus on increasing access to healthy food and creating a positive food environment

Focus on improving mobility connections and investing in a dignified public realm

LACK OF FRESH FOOD

NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD DIVERSITY & DENSITY

VARIED & HEALTHY OFFER

Key themes for Alief, Houston Unequal Access

Multi-Generational Needs

Public Safety

Community Diversity

People are surrounded by a deluge of food options but the quality of their surrounding environment and the distance from food hubs to home makes food seem inaccessible to many members of the community.

This community loves to spend time with their friends and family.

Re-framing the way people see food and eating will be a major benefit in how we manage the burden of chronic disease.

Public safety is a frequently commented on barrier to getting food safely. People feel uncomfortable walking at night, and many neighborhood streets lack maintenance but also food shops and strip malls are not made for people.

The food offering is diverse, but many people don't feel their culture is represented in the food around them.

How might we create environments that feel inviting, unique and welcoming to many different generations of users?

How might we bring dignity and delight to moving around the community, buying food and eating in public spaces throughout the neighborhood?

How might we leverage the social opportunities of communities in Houston to improve the overall health and quality of life?

Geographic Differences The urban quality makes it challenging to move around and stay, and the lack of high quality public spaces makes lingering on street seem like a nuisance rather than a lively and vibrant activity.

How might we make it easier for people to spend time in public spaces, or socialize in strip mall environments while also supporting walking, biking and taking public transport to get food?

How might we support local business development and celebrate people’s favorite foods and cultural heritage, all while continuing to create a brand and identify for Asiatown?

Methodology for studying foodscapes A People-First Approach Our methods place an emphasis on bridging data to design and then to action.

Working with foodscapes requires a triangulation of data to understand the relationship between the city, its citizens, and the food they eat. We rely on quantitative and qualitative observational research to inform the Foodscape Study.

Our work is based on the human dimension, the built environment’s effect on social interaction between people. People experience the city using all of their senses. The starting point for this project is to put people at eye-level and prioritize a ‘people-oriented’ focus in the planning process.

The Public Life Study

The Foodscape Study

The Intercept Survey

A PSPL provides empirical evidence and arguments for improving the public realm.

We count people moving through the city on different modes of transportation. We map where and how people stay, the activities they engage in, and the demographics of people present or missing from the public realm.

The Foodscape Study provides a quantitative picture of how food behavior relates to the food environment. We measure food behavior - how people move food items, and how people stay in the public realm with food. We measure the food environment - mapping the frontages of food places to determine what they signal and how they meet the street.

We survey people’s personal sentiment by conducting a range of qualitative methods.

Focus groups, on site interviews and online questionnaires. Questions are framed by how people spend time in the public realm, how they get around and to where, and the emotional and habitual relationship people have with food.

72˚

Alleyway

Hotel

72˚

degree viewing angle

Alleyway

Kiosk

degree viewing 0238 angle

Smelling

Walking We walk at an average of 5km per hour and we experience many details at this speed.

A desirably scented environment is stimulating and can positively affect our emotional state.

5km

Food behaviors

We use food as a form of nutrition, to socialize or to quench bordum.

Listening A positive and low sound-scape is important for human well-being and communication.

Seeing people, spaces & buildings

Public life Foodscape Intercept survey

0,5-3,7M

Food Place The density, price and variety of food places Mapping

indicate how30M accessible

food is to a community.

Recognising

Facade measurements

individuals

& one-way communication

Talking & interacting

15m e

72˚

visual angle

20%

20%

facade

signag

g

seatin ad

Our senses are mainly horizontal and our sight range is limited when we look upwards.

Talking edge

zone

A desirably scented environment is stimulating and can positively affect our emotional state.

The appearance of a food place communicates how welcome or excluded one may feel.

20M

Learning from the community

I didn’t know the community was missing healthy options, now I know where we can start!

Two sessions with 22 unique stakeholders

it makes complete sense to design a food environment that is enjoyable for all and to make it accessible for all.

Stakeholder Sessions We hosted two stakeholder sessions inviting representatives from local business groups, a mix of city departments, community representatives and more.

The impact I’d like to see is... developers that bring in restaurants and businesses with a Healthy food mindset

Maptionnaire Online Survey We distributed an online map based questionnaire to learn from community members. What they enjoy about the public realm, where they feel safe, and what food places they frequent.

I’m excited about the community interacting in a place where it is already their destination

I love the concept of walkability More walking opportunities.

Interviews with Restaurants Hope Clinic helped us facilitate two meaningful interviews with local restaurants in the Bite of HOPE network.

Hi Houston!

We want to hear about your food experiences in this neighborhood

Public Life Survey

59

online respondents

22 local students and community members spent two days on site collecting public life data.

7 areas

surveyed by 22 local people

“I like to eat out with my family. I can’t find places where I can exercise or see nature. I think nature is missing.”

“There are some parks I like to visit, but not many.”

Maptionnaire respondents

We studied public life in Alief & Asiatown

32%

Sterling Plaza Lion Square

of adults living in Houston suffer from Diabetes.

Hong Kong City Mall

Saigon Houston Plaza

Hope Clinic Arthur Storey Park

Alief Spark Park

HEB

We partnered with Hope Clinic, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving over 20,000 patients yearly located in Alief/Asiatown, a western suburb of Houston, to measure public life.

Many places where people get food in Alief are car dominated.

1

Visual cues about what is in a restaurant or store are limited.

Store fronts are uniform — with no hint to what the unique offer in the establishment is.

2

People weave through parking lot traffic and parked cars— with no sidewalk or dedicated space for pedestrians. Leaving them feeling unsafe and unprotected.

3

People often end up driving from one destination to the next in the same shopping center because it isn’t feasible to walk comfortably in Houston’s climate or in a parking lot environment.

Restaurateurs want to put healthy food on the table, but don’t know how.

Restaurant owners we spoke to have a desire to connect with their community through the food they serve. They feel the food they’re serving is healthy, yet they both find that the majority of their customers are Vietnamese (or of the cultural heritage of the food they’re serving) and only occasionally other demographics. They’d like to know how to better serve their community, but cost and unexpected risk are a huge barrier.

“Sometimes it’s hard to obtain the ingredients to serve healthy, nutritious food. Out of season, traditional dishes can be more costly to make and we don’t profit.

I want my clients to eat healthy food and enjoy it. It’s important that they feel better when they consume healthy food. And I feel better knowing I’m serving nutritious food to my community, while sharing the special flavors in traditional dishes” Van Hoang Owner of Banh Cuon Hoa, Vietnamese restaurant

“During Covid19 I’ve increased takeaway and reduced capacity inside the restaurant. We have to connect with food delivery services to keep the food fresh.

Most of our food is considered healthy and we are working to serve nutritious food to the community. I want to introduce new special dishes that haven’t been tasted in South West Houston. Some special dishes that are enjoyable and healthy.”

Johnny Duong Owner of Nha Trang Grilled Duck, Vietnamese restaurant

Many walk around strip malls without engaging in food activities.

People moving with food is an indicator of how often people are interacting with food as they go about their daily routines. We study this to understand if there is food activity taking place, and if so where it is happening. Despite surveying shopping centers with an abundance of food places, the majority of people are moving through the shopping centers without interacting with food.

A

Lion Square has the least amount of food activity, likely because there isn’t a predominant supermarket or outdoor seating area, but there are restaurants.

B

H.E.B. shopping center has the most public activity happening with food items. Correlating with the fact that it is many locals favorite supermarket.

Hong Kong City Mall

81%

62%

Dun Huang Plaza

Walking Walkingwhile whileEating/Drinking Eating/Drinking HAVE A NICE DAY

Walking Walkingw/w/Groceries Groceries Walking Walkingw/w/Food FoodororDrink Drink

Walking without food

Walking while eating

Walking with groceries

Walking with take-away

H.E.B.

37%

65%

Walking Walkingwithout withoutFood FoodororDrink Drink

THANK YOU

Lion Square

Many people are coming to Alief for groceries.

A

All locations

The largest diversity of healthy food activities was observed in Arthur Storey park, a loved and well used park - and the only of its kind in the vicinity.

100 Driver / delivery Drinking Eating to-go food

80

Looking at food

Shopping Centers

Parks Eating fresh food

60 100 Looking at food

Eating to-go meal

40

Carrying grocery bag

Looking at food

80

Eating snack

60 Carrying groceries

20

Eating snack

Buying food

40

Eating fruit & fresh food

Carrying groceries Carrying groceries

Buying food

20 Carrying groceries

0

Carrying groceries

Buying food

Buying food

0

All sites

Arthur Storey Park

H.E.B

Hong Kong City Mall

Dun Huang Plaza

Lion Square

03 Insights

A Places that cater to multigenerational groups have greater urban qualities.

A

The strip mall environment does not provide the quality environment people crave. As a place for cars, it does not support public life.

65+ 25-64 15-24 5-14 0-4

Quality Score

Age Distribution 40

20

0

9/12

Alief Spark Park & Nature Centre

3/12

Hong Kong City Mall

0/12

Lion Square

11/12

Arthur Storey Park

4/12

Dun Huang Plaza

2/12

H.E.B. Shopping Centre

0/12

Sterling Plaza

20

40

60

80

100

A Places with recreational activities have better urban quality.

B

We found that local playgrounds and parks that people enjoy, are also where people choose to spend their time. The more generations they support, the higher diversity of activities observed.

Arthur Storey Park Activity Distribution & Quality Score

Dun Huang Plaza Activity Distribution & Quality Score

6% 36%

17%

37%

Aesthetic qualities

77%

Humanscale Ability to walk and bike

Food Related Activities Necessary Activities Recreational Activities

Good views and visibility

Physical safety from traffic danger

Microclimates

Invitations to stay

Places to sit

Opportunities for play and exercise

Social safety from crime, violence, and harassment

27%

Good acoustics

Protection from wind, glare, cold, foul odors, noise

B A varied food offer means more diverse activities.

H.E.B. Shopping Center

Dun Huang Plaza

40 food places

87 food places

100

100 Food Related

80

Activities

60

Food Related

80 60

Necessary Activities

A

A varied food environment with many different types of food options encourages a healthy public life profile with a diversity of activities taking place.

Activities

Necessary Activities

40

40

20

20

Recreational Activities Recreational Behaviors

0

Recreational Activities

56 people staying

0

104 people staying

C Despite many food options, people are still missing healthy ones.

A

A range of people across ethnicity say they are looking for more healthy options and foods that represent their culinary cultural identity.

There are many food places to chose from but 25% of respondents still feel they’re missing food options in Alief.

I’m still missing healthy plant based options.

I wish I could find more halal meats and Middle Eastern vegetables

We need more organic and locally grown foods. And it is hard to find Asian Spices too.

D Parking dominance reduces access to healthy food.

A

In a setting dominated by cars, pedestrians are only given 10% of the space. 24% of people surveyed said they don’t feel safe getting food due to sidewalk and road quality.

90% cars

10% people

E

48%

31%

The pedestrian experience does not feel safe due to street quality.

of people we spoke to felt unsafe as a pedestrian in Alief / Asiatown.

didn’t feel safe in Alief / Asiatown in general.

87% of these respondents were women.

Sterling Plaza

Too many cars!

A

People’s basic needs for a safe environment are not being met.

Therefore, even if one were able to walk to the nearest food place, they likely choose not to, due to competition with cars and infrastructural challenges.

Busy roads, high traffic and crazy Houston drivers!

Cars don’t respect pedestrians

Not enough sidewalks

Key takeaways

1

2

3

Parks and playgrounds are attracting a diversity of demographic groups and are the perfect setting to influence habits.

People are forming their dietary and social habits based on a lack of density around food places.

Strip malls are environments to pass through and the design is increasing unhealthy lifestyles.

How might we introduce opportunities to spend time, socialize, and eat well where people do their shopping?

How might we create a culture of pedestrian first connectivity to amenities and services around the strip mall?

Bring food to where people are

How might we introduce healthy food options where people spend their leisure time?

Invite people to stay where food is clustered

Transform the traditional strip mall

04 Strategy

• Public space upgrades that support food • Collaborations and partnership models across stakeholders • Daily rhythms around food • Public life and social interaction

• Presence of healthier food in local communities • Price of healthier food options • Perception of the foodscape • Presentation & visibility of fresh ingredients • People that can unlock food access

m

ki Q ui c cale impro ve m

People

rh

o

s odo

Five pillars provide a holistic approach to tackle food insecurity. These strategies aim to reach the following goals:

Programs & Investments

Ne i g hb

Test strategies needed for lasting impact through pilot projects.

Pilots test:

e

Lon

s nt

gt

Breaking down silos

Policy change

ct

Lasting Impact

Building trust with communities

Increasing access & visibility

a imp

Rapid Change

Pilot projects

m er

The Healthy Foodscape Strategy is built by 5 key pillars of action, and three pilots to get started.

nd

Intervening in the foodscape requires a systemic approach. In order to achieve the Healthy Foodscape Strategy, we believe rapid pilots will kick-start that process. Pilots offer a springboard into action and build local trust - and eventually a pathway to policy change. Pilots provide the perfect baseline for catalyzing engagement with citizens and initiating incremental change.

ntation on t e he em pl

ou gr

From Rapid Change to Lasting Impact

Key pillars for building a Healthy Foodscape Strategy.

RAPID CHANGE PILOT PROJECTS

Sterling Plaza

1. Make the sensory rich culinary experience visible Lion Square

2. Create an enjoyable food environment for all 3. Increase healthy food access LASTING IMPACT 4. Improve the people-first mobility experience

Saigon-Houston Plaza Hong Kong City Mall

Alief SPARK park & nature center

Boone Park

5. Maintain a dignified public realm

Arthur Storey Park

Hope Clinic Dun Huang Plaza

Multi-use urban trail

1

Make the sensory rich culinary experience visible

Visibility of produce

Activate facades by brining produce to the front to draw people in Communicate with a wayfinding system and brand for Alief and Asiatown

La Boqueria — Barcelona

Invite people to see, smell, and taste the foods available

Allow people to see, smell, and hear food being prepared

Encourage businesses to utilize their outdoor spaces Bring healthy food options to where people spend time in key public spaces

Chinatown — NYC

Use events and programming to build excitement over international food offering

Making food visible can happen with light touches

Introduce partnerships for food places to share outdoor amenities Chinatown — NYC

Citta Market — Tokyo

2

Create an enjoyable food environment for all

Integrate greenery

Promote outdoor dining with the family and friends Create a unique and comfortable environment that people want to stay in

Provide a variety of seating options Bar Celo — Los Angeles

Protect people from traffic

Provide a comfortable outdoor microclimate with shade, misters, comfortable seating, and vegetation

Protect people from sun

Consider multi-generational needs by providing comfortable seating and invitations for different user groups like children and seniors.

Chinatown — New York City

New York City

3

Increase healthy food access

Consider a grocery pick up system

Provide healthy food where people already are, and make it the obvious meal of choice Consider mobile grocery or prepared food vendors to reach more residential areas

Hope Farms — Houston

Work with restaurants to develop a list of Hope-certified dishes on menus of local restaurants

Bring healthy foods to people

Make it simple to buy healthy foods

Prescribe grocery lists to patients. Couple this with Bite of HOPE programming in supermarkets to help people form healthier cooking habits Work with supermarkets to provide simple, nutritious recipes alongside produce at the store so its easy for people to understand what they could make at home

Bite of Hope

Bite of Hope

Put a Hope Clinic sticker on approved items

Bite of Hope

Fresh RX — Houston

4

Improve the peoplefirst mobility experience.

Delinate seperate space for cyclists and pedestrians

Make it easy and delightful to move by bike, on foot or by bus for Hope Clinic visitors or staff Improve crosswalks between major shopping centers near business complexes

Cultural Trail — Indianapolis

Consider building out the median with protected peoplefirst infastructure

Introduce accessible micro-mobility stations in close proximity to where people live and work

Give people visibility with bump-outs & painted cross walks

Collaborate with local agencies to incentivize a multi-use trail connecting residents to their daily needs Implement destination-oriented wayfinding to indicate what is nearby Introduce traffic calming along major roads to better safety

Consider pedal assist or electric micromobility Jump E-Bikes, Nationwide

Sao Paulo, Brazil

4

Maintain a dignified public realm.

Integrate greening in parking lots

Promote both real and perceived safety with lighting and sidewalk improvements Introduce a vegetation strategy that addresses air pollution Place services and amenities adjacent to food places to bridge daily needs Promote healthy food products through visible recipes, culturally relevant products, and communication Design for the entire life cycle (0 - 80+ years old) Cluster healthy food activities with a unified certification program

Keep lighting consistent

Cluster amenities with staying and mobility options

Gilmore Center — Los Angeles Nudge people from grocery stores into staying experiences

Broadway Village — Tucson

IN FOCUS

Fresh RX, Houston FreshRx Farm to Hospital is a fresh produce prescription program working with oncology, cardiology, neurology (stroke), and pediatric patients in the community whose doctors have advised them to change their diets as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.

The FRESH Rx program is modeled after a fruit and vegetable prescription program designed to support clinic patients identified as food insecure or are at risk of dietrelated chronic diseases. During the clinical visit or a health education session, participants are issued a prescription voucher to be redeemed

at any Get Moving Houston Farmers Market, April through October.

Participants receive a free 16 week farm share which allows them to start incorporating more fresh produce into their diet without adding any additional financial pressure.

This program is intended to serve patients that are nutritionally vulnerable, including those on Medicare, Medicaid or paying out of pocket for medical expenses.

This could integrate into the Bite of HOPE Medicine of Food program and tie Hope Clinic to the surrounding food industry like supermarkets.

Key take-aways Link healthcare to healthy eating with simple recipes food vouchers, and a prescription!

Help patients take control of their lifestyle by tailoring food prescriptions to people’s culture and interest!

Promote local producers or sellers through a collaboration!

FreshRx supplies produce from local family farms that use organic growing practices

IN FOCUS

Sunday Streets program Since 2014, Sunday Streets Houston has been run by the city of Houston to promote and improve the health of Houstonians. Sunday Streets opens a stretch of streets normally reserved for cars to allow for cycling, walking, dancing and socializing, and provides a family-friendly opportunity to be physically active or enjoy locally produced food take-away and farmers markets.

The event happens 6 times per year.

A portion of the city is closed to traffic for about 4 hours. During the event, participants get an average of 70 minutes of physical activity and 89% of all people present report a

more positive feeling about the city.

The pop up locations for local food shops and restaurants on the closed off streets generate revenue for local small businesses and increase their visibility.

A similar initiative is run in Philadelphia, where ‘Philly Free Streets’ temporarily closes streets to cars, inviting people to walk, bike, and play. This concept is a great stepping stone to build up the feeling of community in Alief while showcasing vendors and their international food offerings. This is a fun way to promote Hope Clinic’s vision for shifting food behaviors.

Key take-aways Introducing physical activity and economic activity simultaneously!

Strengthen the role of commercial businesses as a community building activity!

Help consumers get more visibility of the businesses, cultures and people of the Alief and Asiatown area!

Our pilot projects are guided by two simple strategies. We see these strategies as the main directives for nudging people towards healthier food behaviors in their communities.

1

HIGH DENSITY CITY-WIDE DENSITY

Diagnosing interventions for Alief & Asiatown

Improve the surrounding environment where people buy and eat food

High Density Food Desert Focus on increasing access to healthy food and improving the mobility experience

High Density Varied Food Offer Focus on creating a positive food environment and making the healthy choice the easy choice

Low Density Food Desert Focus on increasing access to healthy food and creating a positive food environment

Low Density Varied Food Offer Focus on improving mobility and investing in a dignified public realm 2

Bring great nutritious food to where people spend the most time

Park in the Parking Lot

LOW DENSITY

2

2

1

Supercharging Arthur Storey Park

LACK OF FRESH FOOD

Alief Night Market

NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD DIVERSITY & DENSITY

VARIED & HEALTHY OFFER

Getting Started Three pilot projects for rapid change that can lead to lasting impact

Alief Night Market — Celebrate the diversity of cultures — Establish a physical and digital identity of the neighborhood as a place to enjoy special meals with others — Shift perception of Asiatown as a takeaway only place to a culinary destination — Invite food vendors out of their stores, onto the street and showcase the international food offering — Rotate the theme according to country or highlight a special ingredient — Introduce an educational element through Hope Clinic!

Bringing the Park Back to the Parking Lot

Supercharge Arthur Storey Park

— Pilot a walkable community by making it attractive to park once and visit multiple locations — Ensure a diverse range of users like seniors, children, and families have a place to rest, play and eat — Provide a comfortable and unique environment so people can spend time, even in the warmer months — Tie existing amenities together while providing Hope Clinic with a visible info booth or kiosk

— Take the good to great with new invitations for physical activity and staying longer outdoors — People love this park. Capitalize on the existing audience spending time at Arthur Storey and provide some nutritious meal options or produce — Increasing comfort for a diverse range of people to stay at Arthur Storey

Alief culinary experie

nce tomorrow

KIT OF PARTS • Temporary food kiosks • Lighting • Cafe tables and chairs • Ground paint • Digital presence & marketing materials

PATHWAY TO LASTING IMPACT Rapid Change

Build a restaurant coalition to participate monthly & marketing campaign Identify co-sponsers and source easy to use equipment and storage facilities

GETTING IT DONE

Bring awareness to the diversity of Asian cultures, cuisines and communities in the area through a consistent and formalized Night Market. We can shift general perceptions of Asiatown as a takeaway only place to a culinary destination by making a presence both in person, and online with a digital platform. The Alief Night Market is a extension of the existing night market, with a health and nutrition lens through Hope Clinic’s collaboration.

Develop a schedule of events that focus on celebrating cultures even while promoting healthy food items to the restaurants

Kick off event with a catchy theme visibly supported by Hope Clinic

METRICS OF SUCCESS • % of food activities in the shopping centers • # of people staying at night • Presence of women spending time in the public realm • Multi-generational groups spending time together

SCALING UP

Alief Night Market

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

Lasting Impact

Introduce a Alief and Asiatown homepage that can connect residents and visitors to the businesses and their events

Evaluate impact through measuring sentiment and perception change

Scale up to other parking lots in adjacent areas

Key Healthy Foodscape Strategies — Make healthy food more accessible — Nurture a people-first mobility experience — Maintain a dignified public realm

Alief Night Market

We want to shift perceptions around Alief/ Asiatown as a place to eat while spending time with your family Before A

B

C

Increase visibility A night market can help Hope Clinic continue to meet the community in public, build trust, and increase visibility of the Clinic’s connection to the local businesses.

A new destination People perceive the strip malls as a place to stop and go, use this market as a platform for showing all of the unique food offerings available and diversify the clientele visiting local businesses.

Celebrate cultural foods Hope Clinic has used events as a community building activity.

This consistent event could help showcase ingredients and recipes as fun and delicious.

Bellaire Boulevard Corprate Drive

Hope Clinic

Legend indicating where the pilot takes places

Pilot activities can be inexpensive and still impa ctful!

• Group seating • Shade sails • Food kiosks • Safe and clearly marked crosswalks • Green buffer of vegetation • Water feature for play and cooling

Rapid Change

GETTING IT DONE

Pilot a walkable community within a shopping center to show residents, visitors and stakeholders how a strip mall can be more than a parking lot. This new destination will make it easier for people to grab a meal and sit outside under a shaded area, rest while a friend or family member go shopping, and entertain children. This small central park will tie existing amenities together provide Hope Clinic with a visible info booth.

KIT OF PARTS

PATHWAY TO LASTING IMPACT Identify co-sponsors and source equipment needed for the public space Introduce public space improvements together with local businesses to ensure buy-in Clear selected parking spaces to create pathways to move around the shopping center safely Campaign Hope Clinic’s dietary guidelines publicly with a visible kiosk or info booth

METRICS OF SUCCESS • Increase of pedestrian movement in the shopping center • Increase in people staying and accessing multiple services • Increase of multigenerational groups spending time • Increase of recreational behaviors

Invite vendors in partnership with Hope Clinic to utilize built in kiosks in the space SCALING UP

Bringing the Park Back into the Parking Lot

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

Evaluate impact of public space improvements and food offering with intercept surveys & public life study Interview users to track behavior change and overall perception

Lasting Impact

Scale up to other shopping centers in the neighborhood Key Healthy Foodscape Strategies — Develop a sensory rich culinary experience — Design a food environment that is enjoyable to be in — Maintain a dignified public realm

Bringing a park into Dun Huang Plaza

We want to pilot a walkable neighborhood in Alief by inviting people to just ‘park once’.

A

Showcase a healthy hub Shopping centers are an obeseogenic environment this pilot can build evidence on how people can park once and walk more easily to different amenities.

B

A multi-generational meeting spot Shopping centers attract a diverse range of users like seniors, children, and families. Now they have a place to rest, play and eat together through a comfortable and unique environment.

C

Spending time People want ways to socialize, especially during covid. This will help people spend more time in public and hopefully begin to merge food and recreational activities.

Bellaire Boulevard

Corprate Drive

Hope Clinic

Legend indicating where the pilot takes places

Food & Beverage Bar and Bites

Parking

FuFu Café

Bringing a Park into Dun Huang Plaza

How might we pilot a walkable neighborhood in Alief by inviting people to just Retail ‘park once’?

F&B

R House

VIVI Furniture

HK Dim Sum

A

B

C

Safe crossings The strip mall environment is difficult to cross as a pedestrian. We will connect this small park with safe and clearly marked crossing to the surrounding businesses.

Friend’s Kitchen

Nu Café Star Snow Ice

Food court With so many food options around, we can build on the well loved typology of the food court, making it easy to take food away and eat it somewhere cosy and interesting.

Hope Clinic info booth Bite of Hope has a range of recipes cooking demonstrations and more.

Retail This educational knowledge can be made public and fun through a visible info booth.

Kiosks Allow existing restaurants to come out and pop up in these on a rotating basis

Comfortable Seating Make sure older visitors feel comfortable with seating that is easy to get in and out of, protects their backs, and is protected from the sun

Shade Sails Provide ample overhead shade to make people feel comfortable during all seaons

Outdoor Dining Encourage restaurants to spill out onto the street

Green Buffer Mitigate harsh microclimate with lush of greenery Use vegetation to buffer the environment from cars

Modular Seats Movable seats for younger groups to create their desired social environment

Play + Water Features Give kids a place to play, consider light water features like sprinklers to help with the heat.

Kung Fu Tea

Lulin Acupuncture & Herbs

Tiger Den Aqua Ice Cream

Secret Salon 316

Blue Digital World

Corprate Drive

Korean Blooming

Metcha Matcha

Xun Yu Si Kao

Night Market Use events that showcase the incredible food offering to build the identity of Asiatown a a place to spend time

Bellaire Boulevard

Visibility Encourage all tenants to spill out onto the street with produce, outdoor seating, or simple signage and planting

Hope Clinic

Great Wall Super Maket Legend indicating where the pilot takes places

Group Seating Encourage people to share meals with their families and friends and possibly nudge them towards meeting someone new

Crosswalks Make it more comfortable for people to walk around the shopping center Neway

A vision for Arthur St orey: active, vibrant, safe and inte resting

• Food kiosks or mobile trucks • Mobile grocer or farm stand • More group seating • Movable seats • Shade • Lighting • Playful groundcover

Identify funding and integrate concept Rapid Change into Houston’s Complete Communities program

GETTING IT DONE

Take the good to great with new invitations for physical activity and staying longer. Support the love for Arthur Storey with improved comfortable seating, play spaces and nutritious food options. Invite a market stand or food truck, and advertise the consistence of these activities. Hope Clinic could introduce an innovative form of engagement into the park environment.

KIT OF PARTS

PATHWAY TO LASTING IMPACT

METRICS OF SUCCESS • Increase in people walking and biking • Increase in food activities in Arthur Storey • Increase of multigenerational groups spending time together in public spaces • A successful new location for food vendors

While another team works toward public realm improvements, Hope Clinic can create a criteria and framework for healthy vendors to utilize the space Coordinate with existing mobile grocer or farmers stands to meet people at the park when they are there Once running, evaluate by engaging citizens to tweak the food offering and the type of furniture or activities available

SCALING UP

Supercharging Arthur Storey Park

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

Lasting Impact

Revize park elements and food offering based on feedback Consider prescribing Arthur Storey exercise to Hope Clinic patients Apply learnings to other public spaces that are loved but under performing for Alief

Key Healthy Foodscape Strategies — Make healthy food more accessible — Nurture a people-first mobility experience — Maintain a dignified public realm

Supercharging Arthur Storey Park

We want to celebrate this as a community gathering space and provide a nutritious food option.

A

Integrate food into the daily rhythm Many people use this park for recreation and come almost daily. This pilot could fit into their schedules and encourage existing users to be physically active while also eating well.

B

Multi-purpose public space Public spaces can serve many needs, and many people. Not all people want to be physically active, this can now be a natural space for them to visit for a new purpose.

C

Multi-generational space Caregivers are seeking ways to play with children and rest.

This activated park could make caregivers’ schedules easier and increase accessibility of healthy food to families.

Bellaire Boulevard

Parking

South Texas 6

Arthur Storey Park

Legend indicating where the pilot takes places

Lighting Use string lighting to extend the hours of the park and invite people to stay into Food Kiosk the night Provide a consistent, nutritious food offering for families Movable Seating Allow people to make their own space with modular seats

Communal Seating Additional communal seating and grills

Playful Groundcover Use colorful materials to add a bit of whimsy to the space and encourage people to linger

Before Shade for Caregivers Bring some movable seating and umbrellas close to the playground to give caregivers a comfortable place to watch their children

Mobile Grocer Coordinate mobile grocery services to park at Arthur Storey at key times

SUPERCHARGING ARTHUR STOREY PARK Consider linear play installlations to build on existing playful activity

Use a colorful groundcover surface to breathe new life into the park Create an edge with the food vendors to create a sense of enclosement

Provide more grills and communal seating

Taking each pilot forward Things to consider 1. Funding and co-sponsorship 2. Community involvement and interest 3. Alignment with Hope Clinic Strategy 4. Logistics and overall capacity

Alief Night Market

Dun Huang Plaza

Arthur Storey Outpost

What we’ve learned

What we’ve learned

What we’ve learned

This concept has received good enthusiasm. People have appreciated the idea of institutionalizing more of the Asiatown offerings through an event based program, and see this as a stepping stone to building local community and visibility of Hope Clinic & the existing healthy food vendors.

Stakeholders are very enthusiastic about this idea of making the shopping center parking lot environment a healthier, social, connected place. This seems like something the local business community could easily benefit from, and can scale to other parking lots.

Who to involve

Who to involve

Who to involve

— — — — —

— — — —

— Houston Health department and Parks and Recreation — A local fabricator — The HOPE Farm, a mobile farm produce distributor — Bite of Hope program restaurants — Local design or place-making practice

The local business district Community based organizations Farms to sell local produce Hope Clinic partners Bit of Hope program restaurants

A local fabricator Community representatives The surrounding business community Houston Health Department and Parks and Recreation — Fresh RX or similar

This is a novel and innovative concept that some stakeholders have responded positively toward. More capacity is required to build this concept out, and there are concerns about safety after dark and logistics for implementation.

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 6

Campaign restaurants to build coalition for market

Alief Night Market

Develop marketing plan

Online / social media communication campaign throughout

Identify co-sponsors Design logistics & facilities set up

Start with the night market for visibility & building connections to business community

Meeting: Kick off internally with community workshop Design logistics & facilities set up Event: Launch the market with a Hope Clinic centered theme

Identify local operations partners & fabricators

Arthur Storey Park

Park back in the parking lot

Identify permitting, logistics and route design Community & vendor engagement program for co-design

Leverage those connections & impact of the night market to spring board the park program

Program & kiosk development with Hope Clinic Workshop: Work with community reps for final design Design & begin fabrication

Host walkshop with local stakeholders Identify co-sponsors & fabricators

Plan integration of food trucks on site Co-Design seating & activation strategy with stakeholders

Alief Night Market

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

Month 10

Month 11

Month 12

Evaluate the program & event with citizens & vendors Refine program based on feedback

Arthur Storey Park

Park back in the parking lot

Design & begin fabrication cont.

Identify Hope Clinic staff or collaborators to launch

Launch!

Event: Launch the new park with a community event

Evaluate & iterate the program to show businesses & visitors commitment to quality

Evaluate success with visitors, vendors, and local businesses

Scaling plan for other parking lots

Apply for permitting & sync with City Planning

Permitting is a lengthy process. Get early buy-in from the City & integrate them as a partner

Integrate new food options and furniture Event: Launch the new park with a welcoming event!

Evaluation

Gehl