Partnering to create a more livable city: The livable St Louis network

CONTEXT: Physical inactivity is a major public health problem.While individual (eg, attitudes, values, beliefs) and social (eg, social support) factors play a role, access to an activity-safe local environment can have a significant influence.Environments that include accessible opportunities for physical activity, a component of livability, require cooperation from many sectors including nonprofit, government, educational, and for profit.OBJECTIVE/DESIGN/SETTING: This study used a mixed-methods network mapping approach to evaluate a multisector network focused on increasing the livability of St Louis, Missouri.PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen network members participated in in-depth interviews about their livability partners.OUTCOME MEASURES/RESULTS: The participants identified 86 unique partners in the region, with a majority representing nonprofit and government organizations and fewer from the education and for-profit sectors.Participants trusted 88% of their partners and felt that 83% of partners shared their mission and vision.Trust and shared mission and vision varied across organization types.Specifically, 89% of nonprofit partners were thought to share a mission/vision and 87% were trusted.Participants felt that 87% of government partners shared their mission/vision and 91% were trusted.Participants shared mission/vision with 75% and trusted 75% of educational partners.Finally, 44% of for-profit partners were thought to share mission/vision and 100% were trusted.For-profit partners also had more positive influence than others, while government partners had the highest average negative influence.Finally, while most relationships were mutual, relationships with for-profit partners were mostly one-directional, with for-profit partners sending resources to other network members.CONCLUSION: Livability efforts in St Louis might benefit from recruiting additional for-profit partners that provide the network with new perspectives and needed resources, and from cultivating positive partnerships with government organizations that can assist with local policy development and enforcement.