Home Zones: Healthy Streets, Healthy Neighborhoods

Background | Pilot Project | Resources

Background Information:

Home Zones are neighborhood streets made for living - where pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars all share the same safe, well-designed street space. Drivers are given visual cues of neighborhood life to slow down, requiring little or no traffic enforcement. Slower traffic increases the safety of neighborhoods where residents, particularly children, are active and engaged in their environment. Unique design features such as planter boxes, narrow lanes and special entryways encourage cars to slow down and behave as guests in the neighborhood. Home zones are popular in Europe in both existing neighborhoods and in new developments, where they have been shown to reduce speeds, strengthen neighborhood pride, increase the safety of children, and decrease crime.¹ They work best when community stakeholders come together to design them.

¹ Source: Tilly A., D. Webster and S. Buttress (2005). Pilot Home Zone Schemes: Evaluation of Northmoor, Manchester (TRL 625). Wokingham: Transport Research Laboratory.

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Pilot Project:

The California Center for Physical Activity and the State and Local Injury Control Section within the California Department of Health Services are teaming with Bruce Appleyard, an Urban Designer with SERA Architects, to conduct research and prepare case studies regarding the implementation of Home Zones in the United States. The Center will release an issue brief for national stakeholders, which will examine how to incorporate the Home Zone concept into existing and future residential developments, in order to establish safe and active neighborhood streets.

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Resources:

For more information, please see Frequently Asked Questions:
Home Zones FAQs

For more information about creating livable streets:
At Home in the Zone [PDF]

For information about the English version of Home Zones: http://www.homezones.org/concept.html

For more information on the Childstreet 2005 conference: http://www.urban.nl/childstreet2005/

For more information on the California Center for Physical Activity: www.caphysicalactivity.org

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Copyright © California Center for Physical Activity.

Home Zones are one component of the California Center for Physical Activity's efforts to make a child's entire route safe and active. For additional projects addressing safety along the journey from home to school and back, please see: California Walk to School Headquarters Healthy Transportation Network Safe Routes for Kids Walkable Community Workshops

Lindsey Cox, Delft

Lindsey Cox, Bristol