Health by Design

Your ZIP code can say a lot about your health before you ever step into a doctor's office.

Our Director of Healthy Communities, Taylor Firestine, and HbD board member Dana Reed Wise of Marion County Public Health Department joined Denise Herd on the Herd Strategies podcast, How They See Us, to talk about environmental justice and what it takes to build healthier places to live.

🎧 Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/71OzmKFNLC9nbsQqilnDpo?si=85e6b526506d42f4&nd=1&dlsi=f3d042ef40984b76

Your ZIP code can say a lot about your health before you ever step into a doctor’s office. The air you breathe, the food within reach, the streets around you and even how quickly your neighborhood recovers after disaster can all be shaped by where you live.

On the latest episode of How They See Us, Denise Herd sits down with Dana Reed Wise of the Marion County Public Health Department and Taylor Firestine of Health by Design to talk about environmental justice in Marion County, the decisions that shape our neighborhoods and why some communities are asked to carry more than others.

The Conditions We Inherit is streaming now at herdstrategies.com/podcast and wherever you get your podcasts. Listen in, then take a closer look at what your own ZIP code might be telling you.

✨ Last night we joined Enlace Academy for their Hispanic Heritage celebration, and it was a great night. Thank you to the students, staff, and families who stopped by our table to talk about the new International Marketplace Trail logo. We heard some really thoughtful feedback, and a few of the kids had strong opinions about which design should win. If you live, work, or play near the International Marketplace, we want to hear from you too. Take a couple minutes to weigh in on the logo here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/im-trail-logo

¡Gracias, Enlace Academy! 💛

IHD Neighbors! Join us tomorrow for another Floating Farmers Market.

This time, we will be at the Ruth Lilly Building (corner of W 21 St & N Capitol Ave) from 4 – 6 pm.

Join us for the first Friday of fall. See you there! 😎🍂

🚲🎉 Thanks to everyone who stopped by our table at the Bike Rodeo at the Indianapolis Public Library's College Avenue Branch on Saturday! We brought our LEGO activity and asked kids two questions: how do you get to school or around your neighborhood now, and how would you want to get there? Kids picked a brick and placed it on walking, biking, bus, or car.

The difference between those two boards is what we pay attention to. When a kid says they'd rather bike to school but they ride in the car, that usually says something about the streets between home and school. Safe sidewalks, crossings, and bike routes are what make that choice possible.

We had a great time out there with our partners in this work, REACHMarionCo from the Marion County Public Health Department and Healthier Together. Thanks also to Indianapolis Public Library for hosting and to REI Castleton for the bike maintenance workshop. It was great to see so many families out on two wheels.

Calling all bike people and bookworms! 🚲📚 We've got a special guest at our 20th anniversary party. Tomorrow Bookstore is bringing "Booked for Tomorrow," their mobile book bike, to Half Liter BBQ on October 22. Twenty years of this work feels like a good excuse to celebrate, and we'd love for you to be there. Grab your spot: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/health-by-designs-20th-anniversary-celebration

📣 Our friends at the East 10th St Cultural District need a few more hands to finish painting the barricades and bump-outs along 10th Street. If you've got a free Sunday morning, come help them wrap it up.

📍 10th & Bosart
🗓 Sunday, September 27
⏰ 8am to noon

Donuts and coffee are on them. Old clothes recommended!

Community Heights Neighborhood Organization John B***r Neighborhood Centers Central Indiana Cycling Strong Towns Indianapolis Little Flower Neighborhood Association Grace Tuxedo Park Neighborhood Association Arts for Learning

📣 One of our Safe Routes to School grantees is the St. Joseph County Department of Health! They are hosting a FREE Bicycle Safety Rodeo & Youth Bike Repair Clinic on Saturday, September 26, from 10:00 AM–1:00 PM at Ironworks Plaza in Mishawaka.
🚲 Free Bicycle Safety Rodeo with four interactive stations
⛑️ Free bicycle helmets for youth who need one (290 helmets available)
🔧 Free minor bike repairs for youth bikes, including chains, tubes, and brakes, while supplies last
🚩 Free orange safety flags installed on bikes, (100 6’ safety flags available)
🚴 Bike safety skills and obstacle course provided by South Bend Bike Garage
🚲 Loaner bikes available for youth who do not have a bike
🎟️ Free prize raffles, including three bicycles and family movie gift cards
🍧 Free Kona Ice for the first 200 participants
🎁 Swag bags/promotional items, to the first 200 participants

Join us this Saturday September 26th for our Youth Bike Rodeo. Kids 5-18 will learn about bike safety, be fitted for and receive a helmet, and small repairs can be made to your child's bike! See the flier for more details.

Interested in partnering with IU’s 2027 Rural Placemaking Studio to reimagine and strengthen public spaces in your community?

Join us for a series of virtual events to learn more about the studio and get your application ready, starting with an info session on Friday, October 9.

Explore events and register: go.iu.edu/NCQt1e.

IU Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design