Jackson has high rates of obesity and overweight, which mirror average rates for the state of Michigan. Project U-Turn focuses on promoting active transportation, and was created by the Walkable Communities Task Force in Jackson, MI. This initiative has a goal of increasing the amount of short distance trips made by walking or biking. It develops model initiatives on Safe Routes to School, active commuting, physical improvements and transit use that include assessment, communications and social marketing, policy advocacy, and fundraising.

The Task Force led by the Fitness Council of Jackson has partnered with many community representatives. Youth involvement is a key component of this initiative; a student advisory team, Student Coalition for Walkable Communities, was formed to facilitate active youth participation. A citywide contest for youth, ages 12- 20, was held to design the project's logo.

The student coalition partnered with the Jackson Transportation Authority to evaluate the public bus system. This evaluation provided insight to increase youth ridership by making it more enjoyable. A follow up project, the Cool Bus Route, involves redesigning bus interior and exterior to create a bus that is cool, fun, and safe.

The Walkable Communities Task force supplements youth-led projects with comprehensive, adult-led safes routes efforts to a variety of community destinations such as workplaces, schools, community centers, parks and churches. The models will be shared for replication throughout the state with the help of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness.

This organization was one of 25 demonstration projects selected by Active Living by Design, a national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).