UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — An upcoming Penn State Extension land-use webinar will focus on lessons from 10 years of Pennsylvania Department of Health funding for walking, biking and accessibility.

Presenting the 75-minute webinar at noon on Aug. 16 will be Justin Lehman, public health program administrator at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Sam Pearson, healthy communities program manager at the Pennsylvania Downtown Center.

Since 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has collaborated on the Pennsylvania WalkWorks program with various partners. The program is designed to enhance public health outcomes by promoting physical activity and is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Initially, the program focused on creating walking routes and groups, and it since has expanded to include 100 routes in municipalities across the state.

In 2017, in addition to the assistance provided for walking routes and groups, some communities received funding to develop active transportation plans. Over the years, the focus has shifted more toward planning rather than solely on routes and groups. However, organizers noted that even though routes, groups and active-transportation-friendly policies are no longer the primary focus of WalkWorks funding, they still are considered crucial subsets or outcomes of the funded active transportation plans.

In this webinar, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, which oversee the WalkWorks program, will share information and insights gained from more than 10 years of program experience. The webinar is aimed at familiarizing communities with the correlation between the built environment and public health. It also will cover the funding and technical assistance provided by the WalkWorks program, along with the strategies employed by the Department of Health and Pennsylvania Downtown Center to connect active transportation planning with communities in need.

“Pennsylvania WalkWorks: Pennsylvania Department of Health Funding for Walking, Biking and Accessibility” is the second webinar in Penn State Extension’s Summer/Fall 2023 Land-Use Webinar Series, which runs monthly until Nov. 15. The series is aimed at informing municipal elected and appointed officials, planners, landowners, farmers and community organizations about land-use issues and decisions in their communities.

All webinars are recorded and available for future viewing. Other programs in the series include:

• July 19 (recorded): “Using Cargo Shipping Containers to Create Housing.”
• Sept. 20: “Adaption-Innovation Theory and Community Planning.”
• Oct. 18: “Accessory Dwelling Units: Removing Barriers and Encouraging Construction From the Ground Up.”
• Nov. 15: “Planner’s Use of Social Media.”

The cost of the webinar series is $50 for all five sessions, or $95 for all five sessions for those who want to receive AICP certification-maintenance credits from the American Planning Association. The cost also is $95 for all five sessions for professional engineers needing PDH credits. In addition, registered landscape architects can receive continuing-education credits for a fee of $65.

For anyone interested in a particular topic from the series, individual session registration is available for a fee of $15 per session.

For more information, contact Peter Wulfhorst at 570-296-3400 or by email at ptw3@psu.edu. To register for the webinars, visit the Penn State Extension website.