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Stapleton neighborhood fighting sloth, obesity epidemic, says NPR

National Public Radio doesn't do advertising -- not unless you count all those support announcements, which pretty much add up to the same thing. But a piece heard this morning pretty much adds up to a commercial for Denver's Stapleton neighborhood. The package examines research that contrasts the amount of...
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National Public Radio doesn't do advertising -- not unless you count all those support announcements, which pretty much add up to the same thing. But a piece heard this morning pretty much adds up to a commercial for Denver's Stapleton neighborhood.

The package examines research that contrasts the amount of exercise the average American got a century ago in comparison to today, noting that activity back then was blended into everyday life. So how does correspondent Joanne Silberner get from there to Stapleton?

By noting that so-called "smart growth" communities are designed to force people out of their cars and into easily accessible recreational activities. Silberner then gives extensive airtime to Alisha Brown, director of the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative for the Stapleton Foundation, who talks about a design that facilitates using foot or pedal power to get to local stores and/or the plethora of nearby parks.

"We often see moms and their children walking and playing and exercising," Brown says, adding, "There are more strollers in the Stapleton neighborhood than cars."

For a developer, that's a rare and valuable form of PR -- and this time, it comes courtesy of NPR.

To hear the piece, click below:

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