Building the base: two active living projects that inspired community participation.

BACKGROUND

Kalihi Valley is a densely populated, low-income community (28,958 residents in approximately 6 square miles) with insufficient sidewalks, bike lanes, and public green space to support regular physical activity for its residents. Kokua Kalihi Valley (KKV), a community health center formed in 1972, sought to improve Kalihi Valley's built environment based on its history of community- and partnership-based preventive health initiatives that have focused on the social determinants of health.

INTERVENTION

Kokua Kalihi Valley used a flexible partnership model and a focus on direct community action to develop an unused 100-acre state park (the Kalihi Valley Nature Park) and establish a bicycle repair and recycling program that mobilized thousands of community volunteers, attracted widespread media coverage, and established a number of innovative programs for active living. Kokua Kalihi Valley and its partners also contributed to the successful passage of a city charter amendment to prioritize Honolulu as a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly city.

RESULTS

This initiative was successful in reclaiming a substantial amount of land for active living and in stimulating both public governmental support and widespread private community involvement in programs and activities.

LESSONS LEARNED

Projects that engaged community members in activities with tangible accomplishment were shown to be most successful.

CONCLUSIONS

This initiative showed that community health centers may be uniquely positioned to provide leadership and assume responsibility for cross-sectoral active-living health projects.