Neighborhood and Built Environment
Of all the potential hazards to your health, your neighborhood should not be one of them. It can, however, greatly influence your overall health and wellbeing. To understand how your local neighborhood and built environment impact your health it’s important to look at conditions such as:
- Availability and Quality of Housing
- Transportation
- Safety
- Opportunities for Active Living
- Access to Healthy Food Options
- Healthy Work Environments
Many people are surprised to learn that your neighborhood and built environment are more likely to impact your health than health behaviors. Families who have greater access to safe and stable housing, have easy access to affordable fruits and vegetables, and can easily access safe open spaces where they can be physically active have better outcomes.
How Do Neighborhood Conditions Shape Health
A summary of local initiatives making changes to housing, transportation, parks and open space, and other critical aspects of the built environment to foster equity and create healthy opportunities for everyone.
Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Housing availability and quality refers to the physical condition of the housing stock in a community, as well as the quality of the social and physical environment where the house is located. Aspects of housing quality include air quality, home safety, space per individual, and the presence of mold, asbestos, or lead (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Understand Local Conditions
The Opportunity Atlas
Interactive map showing median rent data by county.
Source: The Opportunity Atlas
Interactive Map of Cost-Burdened Households
Map showing housing cost burden for households making annual income of $15,000 or less.
Source: Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
Healthy People 2020: Quality of Housing
Research on housing quality as it relates to the Healthy People 2020 domain of neighborhood and built environment.
Source: Healthy People 2020
Healthy People 2020: Housing Instability
Research on housing instability as it relates to the Healthy People 2020 domain of neighborhood and built environment.
Source: Healthy People 2020Change Local Conditions
Preserving, Protecting, and Expanding Affordable Housing
Tools and strategies that preserve and promote safe and affordable housing for low- and moderate- income renters.
Source: Kresge Foundation, ChangeLab Solutions
Adopting a Housing First Approach
Toolkit to help communities utilize a housing first model.
Source: National Alliance to End Homelessness
The Health & Housing Starter Kit
Toolkit to help local institutions create innovative health and housing initiatives.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Affordable Housing Federal Programs and Legislation
List of existing federal programs that address supporting affordable housing.
Source: National Association of Counties
Improving the Quality of Housing
Information that outlines quality affordable housing conditions.
Source: Community Tool Box
Housing First in Permanent Supportive Housing
An overview of the Housing First approach to end homelessness including a list of useful resources.
Source: Housing and Urban Development
Centralized Intake for Helping People Experiencing Homelessness: Overview, Community Profiles, and Resources
How rapid re-housing programs use a centralized client intake process to prevent homelessness.
Source: Housing and Urban Development
A Primer on Qualified Allocation Plans
Strategies for State governments to encourage development of quality, affordable rental housing.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Funding & Financing Strategies for Health & Housing
Strategies institutions can use to invest in health and housing work.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Five-Year Consolidated Plan - Westmoreland County, PA
Example Housing Needs Assessment Plan from Westmoreland County, PA.
Source: The Westmoreland County Department of Planning and Development and Mullin & Lonergan Associates, Inc.
Affordable Housing Needs Assessment - City of Colorado Springs and El Paso County
Affordable Housing Needs Assessment to identify the need of affordable housing, and address what housing is needed compared to what housing already exists.
Source: City of Colorado Springs and El Paso County
State of Washington Housing Needs Assessment
The Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) commissioned the Housing Needs Assessment with the intent of creating a baseline method of evaluating need and assessing the efficacy of our collective efforts to address it.
Source: Mullin & Lonergan Associates, Inc.Leverage SDoH Intersection Examples
Innovative Models in Health and Housing
Case studies of how healthcare organizations are leveraging resources to support affordable, supportive housing for their highest healthcare users.
Source: The California Endowment
How Can Partnering with the Housing Sector Improve Health?
Information to help health and housing leaders understand how integrating public health considerations into housing decisions can improve the health of residents, the quality of the environment and ensure strong financial stewardship of public funds.
Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The San Pablo Area Revitalization Collaborative (SPARC)
The San Pablo Area Revitalization Collaborative (SPARC) has prioritized community health objective during housing renovation projects.
Source: Build Healthy Places Network
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Nationwide Children's Hospital helped transform an abandoned elementary school into a low-cost apartment and townhouse complex with on-site job training that can lead to jobs at the hospital.
Source: Fast Company
Twin Cities LISC
Organizations working together to address social determinants of health like creating quality affordable housing with improved healthcare access by renovating apartments for families, using green building design, and having community rooms.
Source: Twin Cities LISC
The Mariposa Project
A housing development project around a transit stop to connect residents to integral supports and services, from hospitals to schools to grocery stores.
Source: How Housing Matters
The Brandywine Center
A community hub with health, dental services, behavioral care and affordable senior housing.
Source: Build Healthy Places Network
Paseo Verde
An apartment complex with with environmentally sustainable design, on-site health center and pharmacy, resident service programs, and social service programs to support children’s health. This is case study #9.
Source: Community Tool Box
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Having access to high quality transportation options is important for promoting community health. Transportation can affect a person’s access to health care services, employment opportunities, healthier grocery stores, and other needed services and supports. Improved public transit also has the benefit of lower rates of traffic injuries, less air pollution, and improved mobility for pedestrians (Massachusetts Public Health Association, 2016).
Understand Local Conditions
How Does Transportation Impact Health
A summary on how transportation infrastructure impacts health.
Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Road Safety: Tools and Resources
Educational materials and resources to help combat the costly toll of crashes.
Source: National Safety Council
Policy Map
Interactive map showing transportation data by county.
Source: Policy Map
Transportation and Health Indicators
Provides transportation data for counties across US.
Source: US Department of Transportation
AARP Livability Index-Transportation
Gives a score based on various transportation factors for a state, county, or community.
Source: AARPChange Local Conditions
Example Transportation Strategies
Example strategies to address policies, environments, and systems impacting local transportation opportunities.
Source: ABLe Change
Transport Case Studies
Series of case studies on how communities around the world have improved transportation opportunities.Source: Centre for Cities
Leverage SDoH Intersection Examples
Preserving Affordable Housing Near Transit
Case studies, strategies, and tools communities can use to preserve affordable housing in transit-rich neighborhoods.
Source: HUD Exchange
Making Cities Safer with Public Transportation
This city uses public transportation as opposed to the growing private taxi transportation services to make women feel safer in their travels around the clock.
Source: Priyanka Borpujari, livemint.com
The Great Los Angeles Revolt Against Cars
The traffic in LA has only gotten worse over the years. Residents want to be less dependent on cars and their pollution in exchange for passenger railways.
Source: The American Prospect
For Central Valley Rural Communities, Ride Sharing Is More Informal and More Vital, Too
Examples of ride sharing network in California's Central Valley.
Source: Zocalo
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Safety is a critical aspect of a healthy community. An individual’s perception of safety is influenced by experiencing crime or violence, witnessing violence or property crimes in their community, or hearing about crime and violence from other residents.
Understand Local Conditions
Crime Prevention Assessment Tool
Approaches to assess and promote crime prevention.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Healthy People 2020: Crime and Violence
An explanation of how crime and violence impacts health.
Source: Healthy People 2020
Policy Map
Interactive map showing crime data by county and city.
Source: Policy MapChange Local Conditions
Handbook on the Crime Prevention Guidelines – Making Them Work
Information on the standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Community Crime Prevention Strategies
This resource focuses on the actions of the individual citizen.
Source: National Institute of Justice
Violent Crime Reduction Operations Guide
Case studies and tactics to reduce crime in cities.
Source: Bureau of Justice AssistanceLeverage SDoH Intersection Examples
Youth Violence Prevention through Environmental Design
The potential to use environmental design strategies to eliminate violence in schools.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
East Palo Alto Police Department's Fitness Improvement Training (FIT) Zones
The development of Fitness Improvement (FIT) Zones in East Palo Alto seeks to increase neighborhood physical activity in underutilized spaces to help with crime prevention.
Source: National Institute for Justice
Cities are Getting More Crowded: Better Design Could Stop Violence
Principles and history of CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) are studied and explained.
Source: Apolitical
How San Bernardino is Learning from Oakland, Stockton to Decrease Deadly Violence
The city of San Bernardino adopted a strategy in 2017 from Stockton and Oakland that helped reduce homicides and violence in those communities.
Source: The Sun
Los Angeles County Diverts Justice-Involved Youth
The program seeks to promote youth well-being and life opportunities by limiting early contact with the justice system.
Source: Health Equity Guide
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Communities can promote active living by shifting environments and policies to increase individuals’ opportunities to be physically active. For example, communities can improve conditions of walking and biking routes, develop residential and commercial spaces to promote walking, or find creative ways to use public spaces to promote physical activity.
Understand Local Conditions
Active Neighborhood Checklist
A checklist to assess key street-level features of the neighborhood environment to promote physical activity.
Source: Active Living Research
Active Living Assessment Tools and Measures
Tools to assess how well schools, parks, streets, and other neighborhood settings support physical activity.
Source: Active Living Research
CHANGE Tool
Assessment questions about local conditions promoting opportunities for active living.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NAPSACC Physical Activity Assessment
Assessment questions about opportunities for physical activity within childcare settings.
Source: NAPSACCChange Local Conditions
Complete Streets
Resources on the ways to approach planning, designing, and operating roadways and rights of way with all users in mind.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
A Guide to Building Healthy Streets
How to implement Complete Streets policies to design, build, and maintain safer streets.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Strategies Promoting Opportunities for Active Living
Example strategies to address policies, environments, and systems impacting opportunities for active living.
Source: ABLe Change
Model Complete Streets Resolution for Local Governments
Strategies designed to support pedestrian and bicycle friendly infrastructure.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Roadmap to Improving Food and Physical Activity Environments
Seven chapters of tips and ideas for improving opportunities for physical activity across various community settings.
Source: The California Endowment
Active Living Tools and Resources
Tools to inform policies and strategies impacting opportunities for active living.
Source: Active Living Research
Shared Use Playbook
Comprehensive guide of tools and resources for formalizing shared use agreements of public spaces.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Move This Way
Tool designed for public health department professionals and advocates to make your community more walkable and bikeable.
Source: ChangeLab SolutionsLeverage SDoH Intersection Examples
Mariposa Redevelopment Master Plan and Healthy Living Initiative
The Mariposa Redevelopment Master Plan prioritized using a healthy initiative plan to direct development efforts.
Source: Center for Active Design
Joint-Use Agreements Spotlight
Using school facilities for community use to enhance parent involvement in schools as well as building a healthier community.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Fall River Residents Enjoy Walking on New River Rail Trail
Encouraging residents to use the trail to get their grocery shopping done while supporting social and emotional wellbeing.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Get Healthy, Live Well
Community working together to promote physical activity, safe streets, and helping kids make better choices via exhibits of vivid depictions and cooking classes.
Source: Tanner Health System
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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that nearly 30 million Americans live in neighborhoods without easy access to affordable nutritious food, and persons living in lower income communities, communities of color, or rural communities are less likely to have healthier food available to them. Making affordable, healthier foods more available to underserved residents is one of several strategies to help individuals make healthier choices about what to eat and may be associated with better health outcomes. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).
Understand Local Conditions
Healthier Food Retail: Beginning the Assessment Process in Your State or Community
An overview of how to assess your community’s food retail environment, from planning and implementing the assessment to communicating the findings.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nutritional Environment Assessment Tool
A way to assess community-level nutritional environments.
Source: Michigan Healthy Communities Collaborative
CHANGE Tool
Provides assessment questions about local conditions promoting opportunities for active living.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NAPSACC Nutrition Assessment
Assessment questions about access to healthy food within childcare settings.
Source: NAPSACC
Food Environment Atlas
Provides county-level data for access, proximity, and availability of grocery stores, restaurant availability and expenditures, farm availability, and demographic information.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture
Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI)
State-level maps summarizing information about local food retail environments.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Michigan Farmers Market Database
Provides information on Michigan Farmers Market across the state.
Source: Michigan Farmers Market AssociationChange Local Conditions
Evaluating Healthy Food Access Interventions
Recommendations for Healthy Food Access program assessments.
Source: Health Care Without Harm
Roadmap to Improving Food and Physical Activity Environments
Seven chapters of tips and ideas for improving access to healthy food across various community settings.
Source: The California Endowment
Marketing Matters
Strategies to reduce unhealthy food and beverage marketing to young children.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Example Strategies Promoting Access to Affordable, Healthy Food
Example strategies to address policies, environments, and systems impacting access to healthy food.
Source: ABLe Change
Philadelphia Healthy Corner Store Network
Example of how community partners collaborated to help over 600 corner stores shift their practices and environments to improve local access to healthy food.
Source: Practical Playbook
Dig, Eat, & Be Healthy
This guide provides users with tools they need to access public land for growing food.
Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Ground Rules
Toolkit designed to help overcome the legal and practical barriers to establishing community gardens.Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Community Gardens for Public Health
A webinar on how local governments can support community gardens.Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Rural Childhood Obesity Prevention Toolkit
Toolkit for community based solutions in confronting rural childhood obesity.
Source: Robert Wood Johnson FoundationLeverage SDoH Intersection Examples
Baltimore Shoprite
Example of how local partners collaborated to simultaneously address access to healthy food, employment, and transportation conditions in their community.
Source: The Reinvestment Fund
Vita Health & Wellness District project
How a hospital fulfilled the Affordable Care Act’s mandate to engage its community by partnering to address the social determinants of health to revitalize an impoverished inner city area by providing services centered around sustainable urban farm.
Source: Community Tool Box
ReFresh Project
This project provided a high-quality grocery store to a low-income food desert and created a multi-faceted hub to improve healthy food access while fostering community connectivity, supporting youth development, and anchoring economic development. This is case study #5.
Source: Community Tool Box
Shared-use Roosevelt
A collaborative project to re-think about school district owned spaces can benefit the community. This is case study #1.
Source: Community Tool Box
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A healthy work environment improves community health by reducing injury, psychosocial stress, and costs associated with employee absenteeism, as well as increasing worker's productivity and compensation.Understand Local Conditions
State Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities
State data presenting the number and frequency of work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatal injuries.
Source: Bureau of Labors Statistics
Workplace Health Assessment
An overview of the process of conducting a workplace health assessment.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Quality of Worklife Questionnaire
A 76 question tool that assesses a wide variety of worklife organization issues.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Designing Healthy Environments at Work Assessment
Assess your worksite's environment to find out how it supports healthy eating, physical activity, and a tobacco-free lifestyle.
Source: Colorado Farm School
Professional Quality of Life Scale
An indiviudal-level assessment on workplace helper fatigue.
Source: The Center for Victims of Torture.
Michigan Healthy Worksite DHEW Assessment
This guide organizes resources into 4 essential steps for a healthy work environment.
Source: State of Michigan
CDC Worksite Health ScoreCard
An assessment tool for employers to put worksite conditions in place to prevent heart disease, stroke, and related health conditions.
Source: Centers for Diesease Control and Prevention
CDC’s National Healthy Worksite Assessment Tools
A recorded webinar on evidence-based worksite health assessments tools.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and PreventionChange Local Conditions
Worksite Wellness Resource Guide
Provides resources around 4 essential steps for promoting a healthy work environment.
Source: State of Michigan
Roadmap to Improving Food and Physical Activity Environments
Seven chapters of tips and ideas for improving a physical activity environment.
Source: California Convergence
CDC’s National Healthy Worksite Assessment Tools
A recorded webinar on evidence-based worksite health assessments tools.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Building Health Equity into Healthy Built Environments: A Saskatoon Perspective
Saskatoon Population and Public Health work regarding healthy built environments increasingly includes health equity touch points across other institutions and sectors.
Source: National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Communities
Larger database of case studies related to community health.
Source: Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Communities
Center for Workplace Mental Health Case Study Guide
Multiple case studies of workplace mental health programs and initiatives.
Source: Center for Workplace Mental HealthLeverage SDoH Intersection Examples
Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare
Case study of this organizations implementation of CDC’s National Healthy Worksite Program to create a tobacco-free campus as well as encouraging healthy eating choices.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Rolling Hills Consolidated Library
The library director at the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library created a National Health Worksite Program called "Health Matters" for employees to address their health through wellness committees at worksites.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Golden Empire Transit
Golden Empire Transit was motivated to set up a worksite wellness program for their employees who face multiple workplace health challenges due to the sedintary nature of their work.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
First South Financial Credit Union
First South Financial applied principles of implementing a comprehensive workplace health promotion program learned through the National Health Worksite Program by putting in place a combination of programs, policies, and environmental supports.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Health Matters at H.J. Umbaugh & Associates
Before implementing a workplace wellness plan, a primary champion at H.J. Umbaugh & Associates needed to convince senior leadership that participating in a National Health Worksite Program would benefit both the company and its employees.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Google Wellness Study
Google demonstrates an all-encompassing benefits package to achieve employee wellness with a well-rounded, expertly crafted effort to improve employee quality of life.
Source: Healthyworks Blog
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Data Source Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI)
State-level maps of local food retail.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Food Environment Atlas
A resource on county-level data for access, proximity, and availability of grocery stores; restaurant availability and expenditures; farm availability; and demographic information.
(United States Department of Agriculture)Michigan Farmers Market Database
Find a Michigan Farmers Market in your community.
(Michigan Farmers Market Association)Absentee and Early Voting Guidelines by State (map)
This state-by-state map has voting and absentee information.
(National Conference of State Legislatures)State Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities
State data presenting the number and frequency of work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatal injuries.
(Bureau of Labors Statistics)