Active Living Conference 2024
Date:
March 25-28, 2024
Location:
Address:
801 Pine St, Chattanooga, TN 37402
Highlights from the 2024 Active Living Conference
Background of the Active Living Conference (ALC): ALC began in 2004 and is a venue for both cutting-edge research and for making findings usable by non-scientists. The conference brings together a diverse audience and provides networking and engagement opportunities for active living researchers and practitioners from many fields. Presentations and discussions focus on the importance of creating healthier communities for all people. The 2023 Active Living Conference was held on the NIH Campus in Bethesda, MD. Initially the ALC was held in San Diego, CA, then also in Florida, Banff, Canada, and now in various locations around the USA. A diverse group of researchers, practitioners, and policy makers attended to advance knowledge and action on how to evaluate, create and sustain active living environments.
The 2024 ALC was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, March 25-28, 2024 at the Westin Chattanooga. Led by 2024 Volunteer Co-Chairs Russ Carson from PlayCore and Greg Heath from the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga, working closely with ActivEnviro (formerly GP RED) staff, various committees planned the events and programs. A Call for Presentations and Opportunities for Sponsorship were made available. Check below for more information. Click here to learn more about the history of the Active Living Conference when it was brought over to GP RED from initial founder, Dr. James Sallis and long-time Event Coordinator, Amanda Walker (who still keeps us in line now with ActivEnviro)!
A highlight of the 2024 Active Living Conference was Chattanooga itself. Discovering this engaging city on the Tennessee River was one of the perks of attending this year’s conference. The conference theme was “Play Every Day – it’s the Multigenerational Healthy Way!” and Chattanooga offers several opportunities for active fun. Conference attendees enjoyed exploring the historic city on foot, bicycling along the riverwalk, and kayaking on the Tennessee River. A special event at the Creative Discovery Museum gave everyone a chance to climb the treehouse and explore learning through interactive exhibits.
Beyond the fun and games, the conference lived up to its reputation as a premier venue for advancing knowledge and action to evaluate, create, and sustain active living environments. Four days of sessions, workshops, and activities explored the latest research findings in public health and active living, as well as ways in which these are being applied in the real world. Bringing practitioners and researchers from a variety of disciplines together is one of the unique strengths of the Active Living Conference.
According to a survey of attendees, one of the favorite sessions at the conference was a panel discussion that featured local officials, including Mayor Tim Kelly, Rachel Tolliver of LifeSpring Community Health, Krue Brock of the CFC Foundation, and Scott Martin of the Dep.t of Parks and Outdoors. During the panel discussion, we learned how programs, planning, and policies can be implemented to create a vibrant, healthy, and livable city. Other popular sessions looked at cross-sector partnerships and collaborations, along with multi-generational play as ways to create healthy communities.
The Active Living Conference continues to be one of the favorite events among those who attend, as evidenced by the fact that 100% of the attendees surveyed indicated that they would recommend the conference to others. ActiveEnviro is proud to be the convener of this important annual event.
Get involved with the Next ALC!
2024 Conference Theme
The 2024 Active Living Conference theme was Play every Day – it’s the Multigenerational Healthy Way! This theme represented a broad approach to the understanding that play, in whatever form, is meaningful, and critical to good health. With PlayCore as a lead sponsor, honored that creating playful opportunities for people of all ages and abilities is a fundamental component of active living. Building communities that integrate movement into daily routines and facilitate active travel, recreation, inclusion, and sport can make it easier for people to play every day.
It was fitting that the conference was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, an emerging active community that seeks to be the first National Park City in the United States – a place, a vision, and a city-wide community that is acting together to make life better for people, places, and nature.
While we know creating spaces that encourage physically active behaviors is important, evidence shows that there are persistent inequities in access, availability, quality of facilities, and programming. All communities need access to health-promoting spaces and resources to close gaps that disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color. Play, in its most inclusive definition, is often spontaneous behavior that simultaneously provides mental and physical health benefits to the player in a way that feels like fun, not work. By focusing on play as a catalyst to physical activity in public spaces, we can help prevent disease, promote health, build community capital, and ensure more equitable, inclusive communities.
The Active Living Conference highlights research, policies, and practices through a series of panels, presentation sessions, public gathering, idea sharing, and, yes, playful experiences in the field to highlight examples in action. The information shared at the 2024 Active Living Conference will help active living researchers and practitioners from transdisciplinary fields broaden our understanding and address the barriers to improving health outcomes, eliminate disparities, provide accessible public spaces, and make active lifestyles achievable for all.
2024 Conference Co-Chairs
Russ Carson, Research and Community Impact Strategist, PlayCore
Gregory Heath, Guerry Professor Emeritus, Public Health, University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
THANKS TO OUR 2024 SPONSORS
We are immensely grateful for our sponsors!
