Healthy Campus

What is it

The Built Environment (BE) encompasses “all man-made physical components of human settlements such as buildings, streets, open spaces and infrastructure in terms of whether it promotes or discourages physical activity.” With a growing body of research demonstrating that the environments in which people live and work can have a direct impact on their well-being, it is becoming critical to place people at the heart of building design and construction, operations, and development decisions.

Goals

• Create a healthy, safe and clean physical environment that supports health and well-being throughout the UCR campus.
• Improve the built environment on and around the campus as a means of creating a community that fosters “health by default.” The emphasis is on structural changes that naturally lead to healthier behaviors.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to recommend and create best practices for healthy design standards and guidelines that support a healthy campus environment.
• Improve and enhance stairwells with signage and beautification projects.

Projects

• Healthy Building Checklist: the Healthy Building Design Checklist was created to support the Planning, Design and Construction team, and other partners to create outdoor and indoor spaces at UCR that promote health and well-being, and to include components of the Built Environment and Health in the UCR campus master plan.
• Take the Stairs: the goal of the Take the Stairs Campaign is to support a more physically active culture through transforming the environment to better support activity throughout our campuses.
• Healthy Beverage Initiatives: the Healthy Beverage Initiative (HBI) aims to improve access to tap water as a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and provide the opportunity for UC campuses to create Healthy Beverage Zones and to educate about the health risks of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). 

Resources

• Hydration Station Maps: located throughout the UCR campus, the UCR hydration stations can fulfill all of your H₂0 needs.
• Zero Butts & Litter Campaign: UCR Healthy Campus and UCR CleanWater are working together to eliminate trash and improve water quality through the Zero Butts & Litter campaign.
• UCR Wellness Map: the UCR Wellness Map highlights assets on campus that are related to health and well-being.
• R'Garden: the R'Garden is a space that grows fresh produce while providing an opportunity to learn about social, environmental and economic sustainability.
• Bike/Walk: UCR supports "active transportation" and offers a Bicyclist and Walker Program designed to make these zero-emission commute modes a better choice.
• Planning, Design and Construction: the Office of Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) is committed to the strategic investment that is being made in enhancing UCR’s environment and capacity for learning and discovery.
• Office of Sustainability: the Office of Sustainability works to implement policies and programs aimed at reporting and reducing resource usage and greenhouse gas emissions.