The Institute for Local Government’s Healthy Neighborhoods Project provides support and resources to protect and improve community health by integrating health considerations into their planning, land use and other decisions.
The resources are geared to strengthen the efforts of local officials, staff, planning and development professionals, and community residents in creating healthier communities.
Economic development and revitalization efforts can create
vibrant neighborhoods that provide for the needs of all residents
by:
Offering easy access to schools, parks, shops, grocery
stores, health care facilities, and jobs
Improving property values, attracting future community
investment, and encouraging local business development that will
evolve with the population
Encouraging public engagement and collaboration between
public and private agencies
Key words: access to healthy food, community investment,
zoning reform, supporting local business, supporting local
agriculture, collaborative decision-making
Where people live, the quality of their housing, the places in and around the home where children play, and the status and type of land homes are built on can have profound and lasting impacts on health. Factors related to housing that can impact health include:
The quality of housing and housing building materials (for example, the use of lead paint or formaldehyde)
Building maintenance (for example, safety hazards or the presence of mold)
Over-crowding
Exposure to pollutants or hazards from prior or adjacent land uses
The diversity of available housing stock
Affordable and universally designed housing to accommodate people of all income, ages, and abilities
Reducing carbon emissions, energy efficient design and housing maintenance
Key words: building materials, pollution exposure from adjacent land uses, housing efficiency, diverse housing stock, universal design, affordable housing
Community services and programs operated by public agencies and
community groups provide health benefits by facilitating social
interaction and support, promoting healthy living and promoting
equitable access to community resources. Community services:
Ensure easy access to safe parks
Create quality recreational facilities and programs
Increase availability of local school grounds to include
after-school and weekend hours to facilitate physical activity,
social cohesion, and improved neighborhood safety
Provide access to health care and wellness programs
Provide programs and services that promote contact with
nature to reduce stress, improve mental health, and facilitate
recovery from illness
Key words: recreation facilities, recreation programs, joint
use, wellness programs, access to health care, collaborative
decision-making, access to nature
Decisions surrounding planning and community design can have
significant impacts on the physical, social and mental health of
community members. Community design features, such as mixed use
development, open space and greenways, and farmers’ markets and
community gardens can:
Influence residents’ mode choice
Impact the ability of residents of all ages and abilities to
be physically active
Affect opportunities for social interaction
Inform personal food choices
Provide access to nature to promote activity, reduce stress
and improve health
Key words: active living, mixed use development, infill
development, climate change action, farmers’ markets, community
gardens, access to nature, open space, greenways
Healthy neighborhoods are safe neighborhoods that have design
features to reduce crime and violence, transportation-related
crashes, and pedestrian and bike injuries. Local agencies
can pair environmental strategies that improve neighborhoods’
health and safety, to create more cohesive livable neighborhoods.
Better-lit areas decrease the likelihood of theft and
violence and increase the feeling of safety and security
Appropriately designed increases in neighborhood density,
provide more people supervising public space and encourage
pedestrian activity. Creating environments that facilitate
“eyes on the street” reduces crime and makes streets safer
Building social relationships within neighborhoods can reduce
crime by facilitating community action
Traffic calming measures encourage pedestrians and bikers to
use the roads
Cleaning up contaminated or polluted sites creates safer
community spaces
Key words: design for safety, increase neighborhood density,
social relationships, traffic calming, decontamination
Neighborhoods can provide opportunities for physical activity in
daily life by designing transportation systems to accommodate and
encourage walking and bicycling for travel to work, school, and
other daily destinations. Healthy neighborhoods offer bikeable,
walkable or transit-oriented transportation systems that
are:
Safe
Provide appropriate travel options
Easily accessed
Feasible for all populations and all trip purposes
Key words: planning for biking, planning for walking, transit
oriented development, complete streets, safe routes to school,
concentrated development, climate change action
As employers, local agencies can play an important role in
reducing the high rates of preventable chronic diseases.
Efforts to improve employee wellness are beneficial to both
employee and employer, reducing health care costs through
programs and policies that:
Prevent obesity and overweight
Support healthy nutrition
Provide tobacco cessation resources
Encourage physical activity
Provide design characteristics and green building materials
that promote good health
Include accommodations for active commuting and exercise
