Decisions about land use in cities, towns, and metropolitan regions have huge impacts on how people live: from the supply of affordable, high-quality housing in communities and the types of available and reliable public transportation to the presence of grocery stores that sell healthy food. Land use decisions affect the shape and feel of a community, and the health of those who live there.

The relationship between land use, development, redevelopment, and community health is attracting increasing interest from a myriad of stakeholders, ranging from public health officials and affordable housing organizers to transportation equity advocates.

With partners nationwide, the PolicyLink Center for Health and Place works to influence policy decisions about how communities are built, maintained, and improved through regulation, design, financing, and the overall property development process.

City of Richmond: Considering Health in the General Plan

A jurisdiction's general plan is an important statement of its intentions for the future: how and where to grow, what to preserve, and what values undergird the community's vision for itself and the future. The Bay area city of Richmond, California, is updating its general plan and has added provisions to assess the health impact on residents that result from commercial development projects and environmental conservation efforts in the city. Advocates expect other cities in California to soon model their planning efforts on what Richmond is doing.

PolicyLink is working with Richmond city officials, Contra Costa County Health Services, and other stakeholders to examine environmental and physical conditions affecting residents' health.

The framework for Richmond's health policy analysis will cover 10 issue areas: access to recreational facilities and open spaces; access to healthy foods; availability of local health services; access to daily goods and services; availability of safe and efficient public transit; environmental quality; safe neighborhoods and public spaces; access to affordable housing; availability of jobs; and green and sustainable building practices.

Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC)

Childhood obesity threatens the health and futures of our young people. Today, more than 23 million children and adolescents in the United States—nearly one in three young people—are either obese or overweight, putting them at higher risk for serious, even life-threatening health problems. If we don't reverse the epidemic, the current generation of young people could be the first in U.S. history to live sicker and die younger than their parent's generation.

To combat childhood obesity, groups have formed coalitions throughout California to increase access to healthy food and physical activity. The Healthy Eating Active Communities program, or HEAC, located in six locations -- Baldwin Park, Los Angeles; Chula Vista, San Diego County; Oakland, Alameda County; Santa Ana, Orange County; South LA, Los Angeles County; South Shasta County, Shasta County -- encourages policies that will reduce the risk factors for diabetes and obesity. These include:

• Maximizing opportunities for joint use to allow public access to school grounds, parks, and open fields;
  
• Urging healthcare facilities to promote healthy eating and physical activity;
  
• Arranging for community institutions to provide free or low-cost childhood obesity prevention and weight management programs;
  
• Converting corner stores to sell and prominently feature fruits and vegetables;
  

As a technical advisor, PolicyLink works with HEAC to train advocates on how to improve neighborhood conditions.

Other projects in the areas of land use and health equity include:

• The Health Eating Active Living Convergence;
• The Robert Wood Johnson Center for the Prevention of Childhood Obesity;
• Programs to improve access to healthy foods; and,
• Devising new strategies for addressing the inequities faced by unincorporated communities in the San Joaquin Valley.