ATLANTA, GEORGIA— Propel ATL is pleased to announce that it received funding from the Georgia Health Policy Center through the Georgia State Physical Activity and Nutrition (G-SPAN) initiative. G-SPAN is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (SPAN).

G-SPAN aims to provide safe and accessible physical activity opportunities, make healthy food choices easier, improve nutrition and physical activity in early care and education settings, and support breastfeeding. In support of this effort, G-SPAN has provided funds to Georgia-based organizations to implement new or existing policy, systems, and environmental change across the initiative’s four priority issues.

Propel ATL is one of 38 community-based organizations funded by CDC's State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (SPAN). Together, G-SPAN’s network of 100+ partners are supporting comprehensive obesity prevention efforts across the state working to 

• Promote food service and nutrition guidelines.
• Coordinate the expansion of existing fruit and vegetable voucher incentive and produce prescription programs.
• Implement policies and activities that achieve continuity of care for breastfeeding families.
• Integrate national obesity prevention standards into statewide Early Care and Education (ECE) systems and advance Farm to ECE programs.
• And, in Propel ATL’s case, to design communities to increase access to physical activity.

The funding received will support Propel ATL’s Tactical Urbanism programming. Tactical Urbanism projects, also known as quick builds, are low-cost, short-term improvements designed to change the overall use and feel of streets and public spaces to advance longer-term goals. TU efforts in Atlanta have often focused on making streets safer for the most vulnerable on our roads – people walking, biking, using wheelchairs, or scooting. (Propel ATL will host a Tactical Urbanism workshop on Feb. 24.)

This program is a direct response to the need for increased accessibility and physical activity for residents, aligning with the CDC’s guide to Designing Activity-Friendly Communities elements of creating “convenient, connected, and accessible streets” to connect people to “neighborhood destinations, such as homes, worksites, schools, parks, grocery stores, health care facilities, pharmacies, and other shops.”

“Just 10 percent of Atlanta’s streets account for 73 percent of fatal and severe injuries,” said Rebecca Serna, Propel ATL’s executive director. “These roads, known collectively as the High-Injury Network, are not evenly distributed across the city but are concentrated in areas with lower median incomes, a larger share of Black residents, higher rates of walking and taking transit to work, and lower rates of vehicle ownership. Through this program, we will share the information needed to install quick builds in communities and provide access to the insurance necessary to get these projects permitted, benefitting residents who want to walk or bike for health or get to work safely.”