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Healthy Community Design Statutory Authorization: 24 V.S.A. §§ 4302, 4382, 4410, 4430, 4432 Type: NONREGULATORY & REGULATORY Related Topic Areas: Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities; Capital Improvement Program; Downtown Revitalization; Facilities Management; Growth Centers; Land Use & Development Regulations; Open Space Programs; Open Space Regulations; Roads & Highways; Public Transit; Development Healthy Community Design B 2YHUYLHZ Planners, in collaboration with public health advocates, are returning to our roots by intentionally designing communities to promote public health, safety, and welfare. Community health–once the primary purpose for planning and zoning– became an afterthought in our design of built environments to better accommodate cars than people. Healthy community initiatives nationally, and here in Vermont, are once again bringing public health considerations to the fore, by re- establishing community health as a contemporary, increasingly relevant reason for good community design. This topic paper supplements and draws from the more comprehensive Vermont Healthy Community Design Farmers markets in villages and downtowns where people can walk to Resource: Active Living and Healthy pick up groceries help to promote both physical activity and access Eating, issued by the Vermont Health to healthy, locally-grown food. Photo by Lee Krohn Department. Health advocate interest in planning and community DUHVLJQLÀFDQWFRQWULEXWRUVWRULVLQJ organizations – including faith- design stems from growing concern rates of obesity, diabetes and the EDVHGQRQSURÀWDQGVRFLDOJURXSV about the rising rates of chronic persistence of chronic diseases. The – to promote healthy behavior. illness in modern society. Unhealthy Vermont Health Department’s “Fit eating habits and sedentary lifestyles and Healthy Vermonters” initiative Decisions made by government, targets obesity prevention by focusing businesses, and institutions all on ways to increase physical activity have an important impact on The way a community is and improve healthy eating. The shaping the conditions in the built planned —its land development vision: All Vermonters will live in environment. Policies and practices patterns, transportation options, or communities that enable them to make related to transportation and land community design —bears heavily healthy food choices and lead physically use, investments in commercial and on the health of those living there. active lives. For local communities this residential development, and the By working closely with policy means: location of schools and worksites makers, public health professionals, Comprehensive planning that XOWLPDWHO\LQÁXHQFHWKHGLVWDQFHV environmental health scientists, transportation engineers, educators, incorporates and promotes healthy people travel to work, the convenience and other community members and community design. of purchasing wholesome foods, experts, planners work to create Zoning and subdivision regulations and the safety and attractiveness healthier communities, elimination that provide for and increase access of neighborhoods for walking and adverse conditions and building to physical activity and healthy accessing parks and trails. better places for everyone to live, foods when development occurs. Healthy community design in work, and play. Organized, community-sponsored this context means planning and – American Planning Association physical activity programs that are building our communities so that it’s Planning and Community Health Research Center accessible to all local residents. easier for people to live active, healthy Collaboration with community lives. The design of our communities Implementation Manual+HDOWK\&RPPXQLW\'HVLJQ2012ZZZYSLFLQIR VERMONT LAND USE EDUCATION & TRAINING COLLABORATIVE APPENDIX B-1 should accommodate and encourage physical activity and access to healthy Vermont Healthy Community Design Resource food as a regular, routine part of For more detailed information about healthy community design, please refer our daily lives to ensure that all to the Vermont Health Department’s Healthy Community Design Resource: Vermonters – regardless of age, ability KWWSKHDOWKYHUPRQWJRYIDPLO\¿WWDUJHWDVS[FRPP and income—have access to options that make the healthy choice the easy choice. under existing plan elements, or would Community Health be better addressed in a stand-alone Healthy Plans chapter on community health. A third Assessments option, presented below, is to adopt 2QHRI WKHÀUVWVWHSVLQERWK Planning for healthy communities a healthy community action plan –a planning and program development can take many forms. The Vermont “supporting plan” under Chapter is to collect available baseline data Planning and Development Act (24 117 – as a stand-alone document that and community information to better V.S.A. Chapter 117) predates current can be incorporated by reference understand existing conditions and healthy community initiatives, but or appended to the municipal trends. Community health data offers some guidance. State planning plan. Vermont municipalities at the are available from the Vermont goals (§4302) highlight the need forefront of healthy community Department of Health’s District to provide bicycle and pedestrian planning have amended their plans 2IÀFHVDQGWKHGHSDUWPHQW·VZHE paths, and to maintain public access in each of these ways to integrate site. Data relevant to community to outdoor recreation and provide community health considerations: health planning include statistics other recreational opportunities. Brattleboro – incorporated health pertaining to physical activity, diet and State goals also promote farmland language under each element of its nutrition, weight and obesity, chronic preservation and access to locally municipal plan. disease (diabetes, heart and respiratory grown foods. Municipal plans must Wolcott– included a separate health GLVHDVHV DQGWUDIÀFUHODWHGLQMXULHV include a “utility and facility plan” that chapter in its town plan. To the extent available, it’s helpful LGHQWLÀHVH[LVWLQJDQGSURSRVHGSXEOLF Morristown – drafted a supporting to present data for subpopulations recreational facilities, a “transportation “wellness plan” that supplements (e.g., by gender, age and income), to plan” that shows existing and planned the town plan. better target available resources to bicycle paths and trails, and a “land St. Johnsbury – established its meet the needs of different groups. use plan” that indicates areas planned vision for a healthy community and The Vermont Health Department – for recreation, agriculture, public and then updated its plan to highlight including its 2008 “Fit and Healthy semi-public uses, and reserved open associated goals, objectives and Vermonter’s Status Report” – is a good space (§4382). actions for healthy neighborhoods. source of general baseline information. An important planning The department, in association with consideration is whether public health The Vermont Healthy Community UVM’s Center for Rural Studies issues can be effectively incorporated Design Resource includes example and Vermont’s regional planning municipal plan language and a wealth commissions, has also established of resources to help you get started. an online database of municipal State funding for healthy community The following simple questions facilities and programs: “Inventory of can serve as a guide in planning is available on a competitive Resources Related to Health for Cities evaluating whether existing basis, as funding permits, through and Towns in Vermont.”1 Though not municipal plans support healthy standard sources such as the state’s regularly maintained, this site provides community design: municipal planning, recreation facility, community-based information, and a and recreation trails grant programs, framework for local inventories and x Is there explicit language as well as the Vermont Health connecting the plan element to updates. human health? Department’s “Coordinated Healthy There are a variety of tools x Will the plan increase Activity, Motivation and Prevention available to conduct broad or opportunities for physical activity, Programs” (CHAMPPS). CHAMPPs more targeted community health walking and biking? grants fund community health and assessments – including the Vermont x Does the plan aim to increase wellness initiatives, including action Health Department’s “Community access to fresh healthy food? plans, programs and projects intended Assessment Tool Kit” and the Centers x How could additional health to prevent or manage risk factors language be added? for Disease Control’s “CHANGE x Are actions for implementing the for chronic disease, and to promote Tool” (Community Heath Assessment SODQLGHQWL¿HG" physical activity and healthy eating. and Group Evaluation Tool).2 The Implementation Manual+HDOWK\&RPPXQLW\'HVLJQ2012ZZZYSLFLQIR VERMONT LAND USE EDUCATION & TRAINING COLLABORATIVE APPENDIX B-2 Vermont Healthy Community strategic plan that complements and described in more detail in the Vermont Design Resource includes a “Healthy implements municipal plan goals, Healthy Community Design Resource and Community Design Assessment policies and recommendations. related implementation manual topic Tool” for use by health advocates and Typically developed in collaboration papers, but are introduced here. SODQQLQJRIÀFLDOVWRPRUHVSHFLÀFDOO\ with community health advocates, inventory and assess a community’s an action plan may target certain existing physical environment, policies groups (seniors, children, low income 6PDUW*URZWK Smart growth
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