Physical Activity Through Community Design
REACH's physical activity strategy focuses on encouraging movement through community design. This means connecting activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations and emphasizing planning that prioritizes people. We collaborate with community organizations, the City of Portland, our transportation partners, and residents to promote pedestrian friendly street planning for more active and safe neighborhoods. Through our initiatives, REACH has successfully lobbied for better traffic control measures in high-crash areas and increased engagement with marginalized communities.
REACH also works with partners to host inclusive community walks and bike rides as part of our Active People, Healthy Multnomah County (APHM) campaign. APHM events are accessible to most and encourage community building and exploration of local parks and natural resources.
What is Active People, Healthy Multnomah?
Multnomah County is participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) national Active People, Healthy Nation initiative which aims to get:
- 15 million adults from inactive (no aerobic activity) to some moderate-intensity activity every day.
- 10 million adults from some physical activity to meeting the minimum aerobic physical activity guideline.
- 2 million young people from some physical activity to meeting the minimum aerobic physical activity guideline.
How to participate
- Move With Us! This summer and fall, REACH is challenging Multnomah County residents to move more by joining a community walk or bike ride listed above. Visit the Move With Us event page for more details on each upcoming event and how to keep track of your activity. Feel free to share!
- Set a reasonable goal to increase your activity. Some people prefer to exercise for longer periods at once while others like to break up their workouts into smaller sessions. This can look like adding a few minutes of movement and exercise throughout your day or participating in an hour or more each week. Find out what works best for you and create a plan.
- Ask family members, friends, and colleagues to join you. Group activities help build community and can make exercise more enjoyable. Having others around you with a shared goal is a great way to stay motivated.
- Check the REACH website or Facebook page regularly for events like community bike rides, walks, challenges and more. (Follow and participate on social media with the #ActivePeopleHealthyMultnomah hashtag.)
If you are interested in learning more or would like to partner with us on some of these initiatives, please feel free to reach out to Multnomah County-REACH's Program Manager, Charlene McGee, MPH at charlene.a.mcgee@multco.us
Who Are Our Physical Activity Partners
In the Media
Traffic Safety Report
REACH works to highlight the increased risk of traffic incidents and casualties Black and African communities face, particularly as pedestrians. Black and African people (among other groups) are more likely to reside in areas that are unsafe due to realities like the lack of proper safety measures (stoplights, prominent sidewalks) among high speed lanes. REACH is changing this by encouraging and supporting community members to have their voices heard in urban and city planning projects.
With help from our partners and community members, REACH commissioned a report detailing the risks Black and African communities face which led to the Multnomah County Transportation Crash and Safety Report. (See the document at the top of the page.) Visit the Traffic Safety Report page to learn more.