The New York City Departments of Design and Construction, Health and Mental Hygiene. Transportation and City Planning have published "Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design."

"Today," the report said, "architecture and urban design too often support unhealthy rather than healthy diets, and sedentary rather than active daily lifestyles. The Active Design Guidelines aim to reverse those trends, by providing architects and urban designers in New York City and beyond with a manual for creating healthier buildings, streets and urban spaces. Active design is environmental design that encourages stair climbing, walking, bicycling, transit use, active recreation, and healthy eating."

Its recommendations include locating "building functions to encourage brief bouts of walking to shared spaces such as mail and lunch rooms, provide appealing, supportive walking routes within buildings and facilities that support exercise such as centrally visible physical activity spaces, showers, locker rooms, secure bicycle storage, and drinking fountains.

It also calls for design building exteriors and massing "that contribute to a pedestrian-friendly urban environment and that include maximum variety and transparency, multiple entries, stoops, and canopies."

"Just as design professionals are increasingly embracing green building as an objective, so too should they consider the potential effects of their designs on public health and well-being," the study maintained, adding that "We encourage project sponsors and designers to incorporate as many relevant active design strategies as possible into each project, and to incorporate at least some strategies into every project."

"Over the last two decades, obesity has become epidemic in New York City and the United States, and continues to rise at an alarming pace. The majority of adults and 43 percent of elementary school children in New York City are overweight or obese. The underlying causes of obesity - namely, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet - are second only to tobacco as the major causes of premature death."

"Physical activity, once part of our normal lives, has been designed out of our daily routines. Sedentary jobs have taken the place of manual labor, cars have replaced walking or biking, elevators and escalators have supplanted stair climbing, and televisions, computers and video games have displace active leisure pursuits, especially among children. The design of our buildings, streets, neighborhoods, and cities often makes physical activity unnatural and difficult to achieve."

The report said that research "clearly indicates that proximity to full service supermarkets is associated with lower obesity, yet access to fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods is limited in many urban neighborhoods, particularly low-income communities."

The study said that "when designing playgrounds, include ground markings to indicate dedicated areas for sports and multiple use, and preserve or create natural terrain in children's outdoor play areas, and provide lights on sidewalks and active play areas to extend opportunities for physical activity into the evening."

In large-scale developments, the report urged that block sizes be "relatively small" and that pedestrian over- and underpasses that force walkers to change level should be avoided.

It also noted that roads should be the minimum width and should incorporate street "additions that have been shown to effectively calm traffic, such as curb extensions, medians, and raised speed reducers." It also said that paths and sidewalks should be oriented toward "interesting views" and that bicycle rails should be paced along outdoor stairs.

Stairs, it said, should be "more stimulating than the elevator and should incorporate artwork and bright colors that attract use."