Case Studies of Healthy Policies, Master Plans, Development Reviews and Designs


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

5097.0: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 1:10 PM

Abstract #115104

Case Studies of Healthy Policies, Master Plans, Development Reviews and Designs

Karen Roof, MEPM, Kroof EnviroHealth Consulting, 2940 Basingdale Blvd. Ste. 1, Vail, CO 81657 and Marya Morris, MUPP, AICP, Senior Research Associate, American Planning Association, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, Chicago, IL 60640, 312-786-6375, MMorris@planning.org.

Land use and community design decisions have a tremendous impact on a wide range of environmental public health issues. Land use policies can have unintended negative consequences on public health, ranging from obesity and chronic disease (e.g., heart disease, cancer) to injuries related to traffic and pedestrian safety, and even psychological stress. Shortsighted land use decisions can also lower the quality of air and drinking water, causing additional negative impacts to human health. That is why the National Environmental Heath Association (NEHA) and International County/City County Managers Association (ICMA) have teamed up with funding from the National Center of Environmental Health at CDC to write up case studies based on interviews with health officials, local government managers, and planners that will provide guidance for other local governments to pursue similar initiatives.

Examples of the two or three case studies that will be presented include:

1. Draft model health impact assessment tool that was developed through a regional partnership and briefly pilot tested by the Ingham County Health Department in Lansing, Michigan that offers a streamline review of health impacts of policies, programs and community developments.

2. A few local public health agencies have been or soon will be successful in including strong health language that promotes healthy land use practices and policies into master plans, trails/open space plans and street design to positively impact health through improved community design, i.e. King County, Washington, Sacramento, CA.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will have a better understanding of

1) The expanding roles of local environmental public health agencies in programs and policies related to land use/community design;
2) new tools and strategies that can increase the role, effectiveness and consistency of local government agencies and improve collaboration between planners and health officials; and
3) priorities, barriers, solutions, policies, activities, and strategies of other local environmental health agencies that they can apply toward the improving evolution of their own initiatives related to the built environment.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation

Built Environment Institute III: Building partnerships in land use and community design decision-making

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA