Action Plan Active City
Choose your active item :
- See introduction
- Knowledge and Awareness
- Programmes and Events
- Spaces and Places
- Cooperation and Partnership
- Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
Introduction
Knowledge and Awareness about the status, importance and benefits of physical activity is a prerequisite for the development of Active City initiatives. It is about ensuring that public servants, and policy- and decision-makers recognise the necessity to take action, and also for citizens to understand the positive impact physical activity can have on their lives.
Increasing the visibility and profile of active lifestyles and physical activity among politicians, decision-makers, administrators and citizens must be considered as an on-going priority for municipalities. Politicians and civil servants need to understand and recognise the benefits of being active, alongside the central ideas of an active lifestyle, which will increase the provision of resources and ensure the issue is put on the agenda for political decision-making.
Finally, without sufficient understanding of drivers and outcomes, there is little – to no – motivation for citizens to increase their activity.
Build your Action Plan!
The below elements have been identified by the PACTE project as key in building an Active City strategy; these elements have been evidence-based in cities across Europe.
So, how do they relate to your municipality?
Select the elements that you would like to prioritise and implement in your hometown and start building your own personalised action plan! This will be summarised in an overall action plan at …
Note : you can chose do work on all settings or just a selection of them. Not all sections are mandatory.
Knowledge and Awareness
> Physical Activity Benefits
Undertake research to understand the physical activity behaviours, needs and wants of your citizens
Raise awareness of the benefits of physical activity for the municipality and its citizens among
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Illustrate the role of municipalities in supporting and promoting physical activity initiatives
> Physical Activity Levels
Measure the physical activity levels of the citizens within your municipality. You may take into account the following categories:
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Set recommendations and/or targets of physical activity levels using national and/or international guidelines
> Physical Activity Branding
Build an "Active City" brand for your municipality, which may include:
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Develop a communication campaign to promote physical activity participation and motivate citizens to be active
Benchmark other municipalities' approaches
Programmes and Events
Organise and implement physical activity programmes and/or events which engage the main population groups within the municipality:
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Develop an array of programmes and events specifically targeting the most inactive citizens, with a focus on motivation and positive influence for behavioural change
Develop and implement a platform (e.g. online) for citizens to easily understand physical activity opportunities available (e.g. programmes, events, sport clubs, facilities) within the municipality
Remove cost barriers by offering and implementing initiatives to citizens from lower socio-economic backgrounds (e.g. free or discounted physical activities)
Plan the physical activity legacy of any sport event hosted in your municipality
Share experiences and good practices of physical activity with other municipalities and stakeholders (regionally, nationally, and/or internationally)
Become part of a bigger network: join in national/international physical activity initiatives e.g. European Week of Sport, TAFISA World Walking Day, etc.
Collaborate with healthcare providers who can offer health education programs, preventive screenings, and support services to residents to prevent chronic diseases and promote overall well-being.
Spaces and Places
Map existing infrastructures and facilities for physical activity within your municipality and evaluate their current use by citizens, as well as integration in the communities
Plan and develop new facilities and physical activity opportunities. This could include user-friendly (e.g. illuminated, safe and clean):
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Ensure access to open space and physical activity infrastructures within walking distance (e.g. 1.5km) for all citizens
Consider physical activity when planning municipality's infrastructure – Design the cityscape to be physical activity friendly
Include citizens in planning physical activity infrastructure (participatory process)
Promote the opening of school sport and club infrastructure outside hours of use
Provide instructors, programmes or events to citizens in open-access sport and physical activity infrastructure
Cooperation and Partnership
> Stakeholder Mapping
Map stakeholders who work in the field of physical activity (or a complementary sector) within your municipality and identify what they are doing.
> Cross-sectoral Alliances
Develop cooperation in the field of physical activity between key departments within the municipality, this may include:
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Develop cooperation in the field of physical activity between the municipality and key external stakeholders, which may include:
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Develop and implement a cross-sectoral alliance gathering relevant selected municipality departments and external stakeholders to promote physical activity collectively:
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> Citizens' Involvement
Develop citizens' involvement, in a participatory process, in the creation and implementation of physical activity policies, strategies, actions, and initiatives
Identify local ambassadors (e.g. elite athletes, well-known volunteers, medical professionals, academic specialists, politicians, the media, citizens etc.) for your Active City's strategy and participation in physical activity promotion
Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
> Planning
Develop and implement a municipal policy and strategy for physical activity, which considers the below key success areas:
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Adopt an evidence-based approach/support your strategy with data when creating a physical activity policy/strategy and other initiatives within the municipality
Prioritise the delivery of the physical activity policy in the responsibilities of certain key staff
Include physical activity as a defined mandate within the municipality council and appoint a councillor as leader
Identify and allocate resources, when possible, for physical activity initiatives and/or the delivery of the municipality's physical activity policy/strategy
Target resources and initiatives towards those areas/groups where physical inactivity is the most prevalent
Develop and implement an Active Mobility policy and strategy
Develop and implement an Active School policy and strategy
Develop and implement an Active Workplace policy and strategy
> Evaluation
Develop and implement a plan to monitor the effectiveness of – and create, approve, and share Key Performance Indicators to measure - the municipality's physical activity actions and/or potential policy/strategy
Execute monitoring internally with a relevant department of your municipality or in conjunction with a qualified institution (e.g. market research company, university, etc)
Obtain and evaluate feedback constructively and use it to improve future activities
Use evaluation results to showcase how your municipality is a healthier, better, and happier place to live in through the use of KPIs and research
Seek recognition (label, award, etc.) for any good physical activity initiatives/practices within the municipality