Why should we plan for health?

Urban and regional planners make decisions about the built environment. They shape the places people work, live, and play. Those places can make healthy eating and physical activity easier or more difficult. The design of our communities can have an impact on rates of obesity and other diseases.¹

One way that planners can promote health is through planning policies. When they include health goals and strategies in planning policies, it can impact the health of the entire community. For example, zoning codes that make walking easy can lead to more people being physically active.^2,3,4 Including health in planning policies can create changes that last for years to come.⁵

But often, health is not addressed in planning policies.⁶ One way to fix this is to ensure that health is included in comprehensive plans. Comprehensive plans guide a community’s development. They set goals for the built, social, and economic environment and include strategies for achieving those goals. Plans generally address topics like Housing, Parks, and Transportation. They set the groundwork for other planning policies like zoning codes and development plans.

Including health goals and strategies in a comprehensive plan can be the first step in building a community where healthy choices are easy and fun.

+ Explicitly recognize the relationship between the built environment and obesity, chronic disease, and public health in general

• Use local data on health outcomes, when available.
• Incorporate health data and priorities from your local community health assessment and/or community health improvement plan.

+ Work collaboratively with public health officials, public health advocates, relevant institutions, or stakeholder groups

• Foster sustained collaboration with these groups and incorporate their recommendations.
• Use your local community health assessment and/or community health improvement plan to identify health priorities and strategies to improve health.
• Work with a local healthy communities coalition.

+ Address health inequities among populations within your jurisdiction

• Use mapping and other data to demonstrate areas with vulnerable populations and health disparities and the relationship to various land uses.

+ Create a stand-alone health chapter or element

• Use data specific to your jurisdiction, measurable goals, and metrics to gauge progress.

+ Recommend using Health Impact Assessments

• Set specific goals for using HIAs to evaluate developments or other land use plans and policies.

+ Establish a relationship between land use decisions and social cohesion and mental health

• Cite specific examples of how planning for healthy and active living can directly affect social cohesion and mental health. Examples include:
  • Sidewalks, houses oriented towards the street, and connected street patterns allow residents to interact and build a sense of community
  • Natural park spaces help to alleviate stress
  • Interesting, aesthetically-pleasing streetscapes and identifiable downtowns build a sense of place and pride in one’s community

+ Recognize the relationship between the built environment and obesity, chronic disease, and public health in general

• Use local data on health outcomes, when available.
• Incorporate health data and priorities from your local community health assessment and/or community health improvement plan.

+ Work collaboratively with public health officials, public health advocates, relevant institutions, or stakeholder groups

• Foster sustained collaboration with these groups and incorporate their recommendations.
• Use your local community health assessment and/or community health improvement plan to identify health priorities and strategies to improve health.
• Work with a local healthy communities coalition.

+ Address health inequities among populations within the jurisdiction

• Use mapping and other data to demonstrate areas with vulnerable populations and health disparities and the relationship to various land uses.

+ Establish a relationship between land use decisions and mental health and a sense of community

• Cite specific examples of how planning for healthy and active living can directly affect mental health and a sense of community. Examples include:
  • Sidewalks, houses oriented towards the street, and connected street patterns allow residents to interact and build a sense of community
  • Natural park spaces help to alleviate stress
  • Interesting, aesthetically-pleasing streetscapes and identifiable downtowns build a sense of place and pride in one’s community

+ Recognize the relationship between healthy community design and economic development

• Identify local or regional economic development opportunities tied to healthy, active design.