Routes to Destinations & Racial Inequity

Reports from CDC’s Routes to Destinations – Physical Activity Among Black/African American Persons

SOPHE, under a cooperative agreement with the CDC’s Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, developed a concept paper to understand the barriers and racial inequities that influence physical activity decisions.

This project brings an understanding of the historical context and consequences of inequities that discourage physical activity among Black/African American persons (e.g., limited access to transportation routes and/or destinations, feeling unsafe in neighborhoods, etc.).

Routes to Destinations will inform future efforts to address equity, social injustices, and systemic racism that continue to present challenges to physical activity by promoting safe routes to everyday destinations.

The following environmental literature scan, was conducted by Tyler Prochnow, PhD

Environmental Scan of Black/African American Transportation and Land Use Expert Discussion and Recommendations on Activity-Friendly Routes to Everyday Destinations” 

The literature scan resulted in the following report, Interviews with Black Scholars in Transportation, Public Health, and Land Use,” which highlights the themes and concepts that arose from the scan.


This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number NU38OT000315, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (CDC DNPAO). The views and findings expressed in this independent report and analysis are those of the authors and are not meant to imply endorsement or reflect the views and policies of SOPHE or the U.S. Government.