In the 19th and 20th century architects, urban thinkers and landscape architects like Fredrick Law Olmsted designed our cities and neighborhoods to address infectious diseases and even mental health issues, something that is more or less taken for granted in our era of flushing toilets and garbage removal. Before Prozac, a walk in nature (perhaps in one of Olmsted's parks) was not an uncommon prescription for someone suffering from depression. It still may be. Recent studies have confirmed what we already knew: nature is really good for us…And if you are in the city (like many of us are these days) a walk in the park might be the best thing you can do for your health– and it may be the best tool in our First Lady's new assault on childhood obesity.Michelle Obama's new campaign Let's Move couldn't have come at a better time. With childhood obesity rates tripling in the last 30 years it's fair to say it's an epidemic. And a systemic problem that must include more than bigger picture thinking– like how the built environment impacts our daily habits, like walking to school.Some people have already started thinking about how urban planning can impact public health and specifically, childhood obesity. Over at City Fix Megan McConville points out that if our neighborhoods and streets aren't walkable then we can hardly expect our kids to get off the couch. And in New York (where city innovation seems to be happening at a breakneck speed) the Bloomberg Administration may be one step ahead of the White House– quite literally. The city's Active Design Guide is leveraging good design to get New Yorkers moving. From their introduction:"active design is critical to addressing obesity and its related diseases-the fastest growing epidemics of our time, while also supporting sustainability"The program aims to design more walkable and bikeable neighborhoods while promoting more activity where we live, work and play. This is exactly the kind of thinking that could result in real, tangible change. Let's hope the White House is paying attention.Photo (cc) by Flickr user loop_ohThis post originally appeared on www.refresheverything.com, as part of GOOD's collaboration with the Pepsi Refresh Project, a catalyst for world-changing ideas. Find out more about the Refresh campaign, or to submit your own idea today.
Between the bras, makeup, periods, catcalling, sexism, impossible-to-attain beauty standards, and heels, most men wouldn't survive being a woman for a day without having a complete mental breakdown. So here's a slideshow of some of the funniest Tumblr posts about the everyday struggles that women face that men would never understand.
In some states, women are put through humiliating and dangerous pre-abortion medical consultations and waiting periods before being allowed to undergo the procedure. In four states, women are even forced to bury or cremate the fetal remains after the procedure.
These government-mandated roadblocks and punitive shaming serve no purpose but to make it more difficult, emotionally damaging, and expensive for women to have an abortion.
There are two types of people in this world – those who panic and fill up their cars with gas when the needle hits 25% or so, and people like me who wait until the gas light comes on, then check the odometer so you can drive the entire 30 miles to absolute empty before coasting into a gas station on fumes.
If you ask people what they think the “perfect" body looks like, you're sure to get a range of answers, depending on where the person is from. Last year, Superdrug Online Doctor created a project, “Perceptions of Perfection" that showed what people in 18 countries think the “perfect" woman looks like. The project was a viral hit.
This time, they asked graphic designers—11 women and eight men—in 19 countries to photoshop the same image to highlight the male beauty standards for their country.
It's not revolutionary news that smoking wreaks havoc on your body in different ways. More often than not, however, the focus of anti-smoking campaigns is on your internal health, citing emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer, to name just a few consequences.
While the superficial effects may not be as lethal, appealing to people's sense of vanity can have a powerful effect as this clever gallery below shows. Twins, only one of whom smokes, sit side by side, showing the profound damage smoking can cause to your face, hair, and teeth.
Body autonomy means a person has the right to whatever they want with their own body.
We live in a world where people are constantly telling women what they can or can't do with their bodies. Women get it form all sides — Washington, their churches, family members, and even doctors.