ShineLA: Transforming the way Angelenos feel, move, and connect in our city

County of Los Angeles

Pilot project or new program

RAP: Our most important partner, together we will increase the engagement of youth in physical activity and use of RAP facilities and programs. We are working with RAP staff at every level, including Mayor Garcetti’s office. Stanford University: Working with Dr. Abby King, Professor of Health Research/Policy to implement the ‘citizen science’ approach. Arts Center: Working with ArtCenter to develop a digital ecosystem that encompasses imagery and storytelling components, to disseminate messages in culturally inclusive and accessible way. Discovery Cube: ShineLA will develop educational activities to be featured in the Discovery Cube e.g. exhibit on the science of physical activity/ sport. Garmin: Working with Garmin technology to provide wearable fitness trackers to ShineLA participants.

Physical inactivity is one of the leading global risk factors for mortality. Physical activity participation can play a key role in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer. Research also points to associations between physical activity and delayed onset of dementia and improved mental health. Despite this extensive knowledge, participation rates are low, and physical inactivity a global pandemic. Globally, over one quarter of adults and approximately 80% of adolescents do not meet physical activity guidelines. The United States is not immune, with only approximately 25% of children and youth, and less than 40% of adults sufficiently active. Within California, many of these trends are the same. Furthermore, physical activity levels in California drop among underserved, girls, and minority populations, thus, to improve public health, we need to find ways to get people moving.

While there is recognized need to increase physical activity, progress at the population level has been minimal. This lack of significant improvement can be attributed to two factors. First, we will only see effective and sustained change through community partnerships, multi-level, multi-sector interventions. Second, population-level changes will only be successful if they consider the ever-changing diverse landscape of cities such as LA and are inclusive of all race, ethnicity, and abilities. In advance of the LA 2028 Olympics, RCHE is leading a partnership to create healthy, active and engaged communities for all Angelenos, Shine LA. We have assembled a trans-disciplinary team with expertise in cancer surveillance, design/technology, civil/government stakeholders, and academic experts who look at how environmental factors influence health. We have in depth knowledge of how neighborhood parks influence physical activity and how community characteristics affect health disparities.

Through our health disparities lens, this initiative will fill an important gap in our knowledge base of the complex interplay between policy, neighborhood/community, family, and individual factors that influence physical activity. As such, the broader goal is to substantially increase the engagement of youth in physical activity and use of RAP facilities and programs and to evaluate the process in a scientifically rigorous manner so that what is accomplished in LA can serve as a model for other cities. Ultimately, Our goal is to transform the culture of LA. ShineLA envisions a city that embraces physical activity at all levels and celebrates all cultures as it embarks on this transformation.

Over the next ten years, our overarching objective is a city-wide increase in physical activity, across all populations in Los Angeles, with a focus on underserved communities. We will: (1) Work within what RAP currently offers; (2) Utilize a Citizen Science approach (e.g. block parties) to increase visibility of the parks to be viewed as a locus and neighborhood hub for communities. Progress will be measured with data capture from wearable devices, and newly developed culturally-tailored mobile applications. The app will serve as a conduit to integrating this large, multi-sectoral approach across LA. We will be assessing secondary outcomes (e.g. obesity, hypertension, resting heart rate), the impact on neighborhoods (e.g. safety, beautification), and the larger positive impact on youth as citizens of LA; (3) We will use validated measures for observing where and how people use park space to examine current trends in RAP park usage (e.g. number of people using parks, how they are using them, and where they are spending their time in parks). At the end of the ten-year initiative, we will also help the City of Los Angeles assess their key performance indicators: 1) Programs; 2) Sports promoted; 3) Participants; 4) Coaches/staff; 5) Funding; 6) Outcomes (Overall participation increase over the 2019 baseline, % of parents that consider their children have a better lifestyle (physical and mental) because of the YSP, % of children reporting increased interest in new sports).