Mercy Housing, one of the largest developers and owners of affordable housing in the nation, has committed to employ “active design” strategies at 80% of its communities.
The move comes as the nonprofit teams with Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), an organization dedicated to solving the childhood obesity crisis.
Active design requires that residents have space to exercise, that housing providers promote healthy eating, that residents have a place to store their bikes securely, and much more.
“PHA understands something we’ve intuitively known for a long time,” said Jane Graf, CEO and president of Mercy Housing, in a statement. “Medical care happens in the doctor’s office and in hospitals. Health happens in communities, at school, at the office, and, most importantly, at home.”
Headquartered in Denver, Mercy Housing operates in 41 states. It ranked No. 3 in Affordable Housing Finance’s list of Top 50 owners this year with more than 22,000 affordable housing units in 323 developments, making it the largest nonprofit owner in the nation.
"Affordable housing represents an essential platform and opportunity to address in our inner cities and rural areas the needs of populations with some of the greatest health risks,” said Larry Soler, PHA president and CEO. “The Partnership for a Healthier America is proud to work with affordable housing developers like Mercy Housing to prioritize key active design elements in their properties that have a big impact on resident’s health, quality of life and community vitality."
Mercy Housing joins several other affordable housing developers, including Vitus Group and Blue Sea Development, in adopting active-design principles at its communities.
The announcement comes at a time when one in five school-aged children has obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children with obesity have a higher risk of developing other chronic conditions including asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, and type 2 diabetes. Children who have obesity are also more likely to have obesity as adults; they also have a higher risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and several types of cancer.
