Version User Scope of changes
Sep 2 2009, 4:16 PM EDT ncormier 7 words added
Sep 1 2009, 9:22 PM EDT ncormier 15 words added

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DESCRIPTION
This system includes elements that connect our communities and move people and goods into, out of, and around the region. The mobility element is inistricably linked to land use planning (zoning and development controls), as well as impacting human health through air quality and fitness.

MEASURES OF HEALTH
connectivity; percentage of people getting around without a car; public health benefits due to increased non-motorized mobility, reduction of carbon footprint; health care cost reductions; pollutant removal;

Recently, researchers at the St. Louis University School of Public Health's Prevention Resource Center, funded by a Robert Wood Johnson Active Living grant, created a community check list to evaluate whether your community is healthy or not. You can view it here: http://prc.slu.edu/iafc.htm.

MOBILITY SYSTEM PLANNING AND PROGRAMMATIC CASE STUDIES
Health Impact Assessments (HIA) are an emerging tool for planners and public health officials to measure the potential effects a policy or project will have on human health. An HIA is similar to an Environmental Impact Assessment, however there is no regulatory requirement, it focuses exclusively on health, and reports can vary in length. To date there have been 26 HIA's conducted in the United States that meet the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) assessment criteria and methodology. In an ideal world the CDC would like to see more HIA's published in public health literature for researchers to learn from others methodologies. However, these assessments can often be resource intensive.

So what does this mean for planners and designers who want design healthy communities and do not have the time to conduct labor intensive assessments? The CDC recognizes that the HIA is a scientific tool, but it can also be adapted to a desktop tool such as the NACCHO checklist and LEED ND points that focus on human health for designers to reference during the design process.

Health Impact Assessments (HIA) Website by the Centers for Disease Control

GENERAL MOBILITY SYSTEM RESOURCES