The Guidelines
Download the final draft European guidelines to improve infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity here.
These guidelines have been developed through a collaboration of scientists and policymakers from twelve European countries participating in the IMPALA project.
The guidelines present a set of criteria for good practice, illustrated by a number of country case studies. The criteria aim to improve opportunities for achieving the principles of equity, inter-sectoral collaboration and participation. The guidelines set out ways in which infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity can be assessed and improved across five key areas: policymaking, planning, building, financing, and management.
A draft version of the proposed European guidelines was presented at the international POIN2010 conference on November 8th & 9th, 2010, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
First translations of IMPALA guidelines online
Download official translations of the IMPALA guidelines into
The Project
Objectives of IMPALA
The EU-sponsored (DG SANCO) IMPALA project aims to identify, implement, and disseminate good practice in the planning, financing, building, and managing of local infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity. To gather the information needed, IMPALA seeks to analyze national policies, mechanisms and instruments used in the development of infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity.
Three types of infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity are distinguished:
- sports facilities (such as gyms, swimming pools, sports grounds)
- leisure-time infrastructures providing specific opportunities for sports and physical activity (such as parks, playgrounds, and cycle paths)
- urban and natural space usable for sports and physical activity (such as streets, public places, forests, beaches)
IMPALA will assist in concerting efforts for the development of local infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity in EU member states, thus helping to reduce inequalities in access to infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity within and across nations.
Implementation
To develop and agree on good practice criteria for policies and mechanisms for the development of infrastructures for leisure-time physical activityTo disseminate and implement good practice guidelines
Project duration: January 2009 - December 2010 (24 months)
