Nashville, TN
about
The Music City Moves! (MCM) partnership envisions a Nashville in which routine physical activity is a fundamental part of daily life regardless of where one lives. Led by the Nashville Metropolitan Planning Department, the partnership has involved cooperation among several departments within city government and a number of other partners to build local capacity to promote active living over the long term.
MCM focuses on changing land use policies, regulations, and neighborhood planning practices to ensure more activity-friendly neighborhoods and streets throughout the city as it grows. Under the leadership of Walk Bike Nashville, a nonprofit advocacy group, the partnership has piloted a Safe Routes to School program and is expanding it to multiple locations in east Nashville, a low-income area of the city. With special help from the Metro Health Department and Community Health and Wellness Team, the partnership established citywide promotional events such as Tour de Nash and Walk Nashville Week and pilot programs including a walk-to-shop program for seniors at the Green Hills Apartments for Retired Teachers and a stairwell use program at the Matthew Walker Health Center.
The Music City Moves! partnership includes several primary partners: Nashville/Davidson County Metropolitan Planning Department, Nashville/ Davidson County Metropolitan Health Department, Walk/Bike Nashville, the Community Health and Wellness Team, and various other departments Nashville/Davidson County Metropolitan Government.
our story
Under the leadership of Rick Bernhardt, the Metropolitan Nashville Planning Department has embraced research showing the link between a community's built environment and public health, and it has used this knowledge in community planning innovations. During Bernhardt's tenure, Metro Planning has implemented an Active Living Audit that reviews a neighborhood's walkability and incorporates the results into planning for the area. Metro Planning also completed an update of Nashville's subdivision regulations, and adopted many regulations to improve walkability. By creating a bike/ped coordinator position and securing the Active Living by Design grant, Metro Planning has engaged more community members and development professionals in considering the health effects of creating more walkable communities through community design.
opportunities
Nashville is a growing southern city that has demonstrated an unusual commitment to active living in its plans for the future. In recent years, Nashville completed masterplans for sidewalks, bikeways, parks, and greenways, launched its Healthy Nashville 2010 initiative, and established significant long-term dedicated funding for sidewalk development.
The racial composition of Nashville-Davidson county's population is 67% Caucasian, 26% African American, and 5% Latino. Thirteen percent of the population that falls under the poverty line is mainly concentrated in urban areas.
The 40-member city council has a relatively high turnover rate, which presents a challenge for MCM in educating elected officials to enact and consistently support activity-friendly policies. This challenge is offset by a strong mayor, dedicated city staff, and citizen leaders who continue to raise awareness about good urban design in Nashville and Davidson County.
In the near future, MCM plans to expand its Safe Routes to School efforts in east Nashville; launch the Sisters Together walking program and encourage its participants to train to walk the Music City Marathon; draft and approve a new bike parking ordinance; continue creating new neighborhood plans that focus on active living and improve the city's ability to coordinate and follow-up on specific priority projects; and develop a website that provides information to residents of Nashville-Davidson County about the many opportunities for physical activity available in the area.
accomplishments
In Action
