Health & wellness
BY CASSANDRA JENKINS & CARSON WEAVER
Health & Wellness
2025
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Health & Wellness Edition! This new annual guide shares local opportunities for residents to engage in healthy activities in everyday life, from exercise to nutrition. All stories were written and compiled by our local team of journalists who live in and around the metro. In this edition, you will find information on the mental, physical and social benefits of having nearby cycling opportunities. Our lead story centers around Houston’s effort to include miles of bike lanes and trails as well as its future outlook. The article also uncovers how having access to safe outdoor activities such as walking and biking has a positive effect on residents, students and children. We also offer readers a guide to new local fitness studios to try in 2025, give insight into a local business that runs meal prep services for customers looking to meet nutrition goals this year and dive into how close residents are to neighborhood parks.
What's inside
Learn more about Houston’s effort to create a more bike- friendly community (Page 9)
Cassandra Jenkins Editor cjenkins@ communityimpact.com
Read about where to get meal prep services for healthy habits (Page 10)
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When it comes to proximity to a park, 98% of West U and 93% of Bellaire residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, higher than the average of the U.S.’s 100 most populous cities at 74%, per the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit. The TPL launched the 10-Minute Walk program in 2017, which aims to improve access to parks, per its website. “Public parks and green spaces are community essentials,” said Bianca Clarke, director of the 10-Minute Walk program. “Parks offer nearby residents a place to play and reap the benefits of the outdoors.” 98% of West U residents live close to parks
Measuring the impact
1 West University
105
69 Percentage of residents who live within a 10-minute walk of a park: 98% 45 Total number of parks: 13 Total park acres: 14
According to the TPL, the city of Houston spends $32 per resident on parks each year, while other Texas cities such as Austin, San Antonio and Dallas spend upwards of $120 per resident. An October 2023 report by the Kinder Institute—a research organization at Rice University—showed two-thirds of Houston residents supported the city spending upwards of $100 per resident on parks. Additionally, in 2021, local parks and recreation agencies in Texas generated $13 billion in economic activity, and supported 74,722 jobs, according to the National Recreation and Parks Association. Nationally, local public park and recreation agencies generated $201.4 billion in economic activity and supported over 1 million jobs.
249
99
LAKE HOUSTON
6
59
8
10
1
2
1093
90
146
2 Bellaire
TRINITY BAY
69
45
35
288 Percentage of residents who live within a 10-minute walk of a park: 93% Total number of parks: 16 Total park acres: 54
6
N
SOURCE: TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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