273052 Engaging the health community to influence regional transportation and land use planning to improve public health

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM

Jenny Bard , Air Quality Group, American Lung Association in California, Oakland, CA
     
The American Lung Association in California (ALA in CA) has lead health community engagement in land use and transportation planning in California to reduce air pollution and improve public health. ALA in CA convened public health advocates in southern California to support health and equity indicators in the Southern California Association of Governments Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCS) planning process.

ALA in CA worked with health advocates to outreach to staff and elected officials to highlight the health effects of car-dependent community designs and to build support for the inclusion of health and equity performance measures into the SCAG SCS.

Health groups built support for the need to measure public health outcomes with health and equity metrics in the SCS/RTP by reframing transportation as a public health issue. The SCAG SCS incorporated several health and equity measures in the plan and the SCAG Regional Council approved additional health and equity outcomes as part of the planning process, such as to: 1) develop and track meaningful health and equity performance measures to better understand health outcomes from implementation of the SCS 2) Enhance tracking of chronic disease outcomes, such as asthma incidence and exacerbation, heart disease, stroke and diabetes 3) Expand the analysis of traffic pollution impacts to include areas with housing within 1,000 feet of high volume roadways and 4) Monitor and report on outcomes and impacts as well as possible mitigation strategies and 5) Have their Environmental Stakeholder working group review the progress and results of tracking health and equity performance measures and report results to the Energy and Environment Committee.

Advocating for increased use of health and equity metrics can bring together diverse stakeholders around smart growth planning. Health and equity indicators can effectively marshal support for investments and policies that support active transportation and reduced pollution.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education

Learning Objectives:
Explain how health voices were a key partner in influencing decision makers to support health and equity indicators in the regional planning process.

Keywords: Climate Change, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been director of the American Lung Association in California's Health Professionals for Clean Air (HPCA), a coalition health and medical organizations, who advocate for strong air quality and global warming policies, including SB 375, California's landmark climate change and smart growth bill (Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act). Specifically, I have worked to engage the health community in the fight against air pollution, climate change and chronic illness through smart growth.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4208.0: Inserting health indicators into California's climate change and regional transportation planning process