Recorded presentation

Karen Valenzuela, MA, MPA, WA WIC Program, WA State Dept. of Health, PO Box 7886, Olympia, WA 98504-7886, 360-236-3700, karen.valenzuela@doh.wa.gov

Tumwater is the oldest community in Washington state, the site at which pioneers heading north from the Oregon Territories stopped to appreciate a beautiful waterfall --thus its name, which means 'tumbling waters.' Bounded to its immediate north by the larger state capital of Olympia, residents of Tumwater have been noted throughout its 150-year history for their fierce pride in being "Washington's first community," a phrase emblazoned in the small city's logo. 50 years ago, the federal highway department sliced the community in half by running a major north-south interstate through it. Community cohesion was destroyed, City Hall had to be relocated, there was no longer any identifiable downtown, and getting around town any way other than by car became difficult. A new City Councilmember, a public health worker by profession, initiated a planning process to address Tumwater's woes. The Tumwater Town Center project, designed to recapture a part of the town as its heart, provide pedestrian-bicycle friendly amenities in a mixed-use environment of public and private buildings, be transit-oriented, and emphasize the community's pride in its historical tradition, used zoning, density and design standards, street width and design, and guidance and input from citizens to revive the City's life, health and pride. This presentation links public health goals and strategies with those tools at the disposal of City Councils to illustrate how the former can and should inform the policies and decisionmaking of local governments for the betterment of the communities they serve.

Learning Objectives:

• Provide a case study of a community determined to overcome its challenges through planning that incorporated public health goals and principles;
• Describe the tools available to local governments to help their communities be healthier, more desirable places for people to live;
• Encourage public health professionals to see how their work might logically lead them to consider running for local elective office; 4.Describe how public health workers can work with elected officials in their communities to improve community health and well-being.

Keywords: Politics,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation