Gary/New Duluth Small Area Plan Health Impact Assessment
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Gary/New Duluth Small Area Plan Health Impact Assessment Final, July 2014 Minnesota Climate & Health Program Duluth Planning Division 625 Robert Street North 411 West First St, Rm 402 PO Box 64975 Duluth, MN 55802-1197 St. Paul, MN 55164-0975 218-730-5580 651-201-5000 www.duluthmn.gov [email protected] This project is supported by a grant from the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pew Charitable Trusts or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Between June 2013 and June 2014, the City of Duluth collaborated with community members to develop a small area plan for the neighborhood of Gary/New Duluth. A small area plan is a plan that is developed for a clearly defined area and gives more detailed recommendations than would be provided in a comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan is a common vision or framework on development and protection policies for an entire city. It sets forth the vision, principles, policies, and recommended strategies that have been embraced by the City to shape its future. The Gary/New Duluth small area plan (SAP) builds upon the goals, policies, and implementation strategies in the City’s comprehensive plan in five specific areas: Commercial Development, Residential Development, Natural Environment, Transportation, and Park Planning. Concurrently, the Minnesota Department of Health conducted a health impact assessment (HIA) on the SAP in collaboration with City staff and a Technical Advisory Committee made up of community members and representatives from St. Louis County Public Health, Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging, Parks and Recreation, Metropolitan Interstate Council, and St. Luke’s Hospital. The purpose of the HIA was to explore how the SAP might impact the community's health, positively and negatively, and make recommendations to the SAP to promote positive impacts and reduce negative impacts. Based on community input and local data, the HIA Technical Advisory Committee selected three areas of focus for the HIA: Social Cohesion, Physical Activity and Access to Healthy Food. These three topics are important determinants of health. Social cohesion, or the strength of the relationships of a community, has been correlated with lower blood pressure rates, better immune responses, lower levels of stress hormones, and longer lives. Physical activity has many positive health effects, including: lower mortality rates; lower risk of cardiovascular and heart disease mortality; lower risk of diabetes; lower rates of obesity; and improvements in depression, anxiety, and overall mood. Studies have found that residents with greater access to healthy foods consume more fresh produce and other healthful items, while lack of access to grocery stores is linked to serious health concerns, such as higher rates of obesity and increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. FINDINGS The HIA used literature review, geographic information systems (GIS) analysis of local data, summaries of data and analysis from existing local studies, and input from community members and topic area experts from local agencies and organizations to inform the findings. A summary of the findings are provided in Figure 1. 1 FIGURE 1: SUMMARY OF HIA FINDINGS Health Concern Direction Magnitude Strength of Likelihood Distribution Evidence Commercial Development Social + high ** likely Some recommendations will affect Cohesion business owners more; but many will have equal impact Physical =/+ medium **** uncertain Residents within ½ mile of new Activity businesses Access to =/+ medium *** uncertain Residents within ½ mile of new Healthy Food businesses Residential Development Social + or - medium *** likely New residents; residents proximate to Cohesion new residential development Physical + low **** possible New residents within ½ mile of Activity recreation and businesses Access to + low *** possible New residents within ½ mile of new Healthy Food and existing businesses Natural Environment Social + high ** possible equal impact Cohesion Physical + medium ** possible equal impact Activity Access to =/+ low * unlikely equal impact Healthy Food Transportation Social + high ** possible equal impact Cohesion Physical + high **** likely equal impact Activity Access to + high ** possible equal impact Healthy Food Park Planning Social + high *** likely Effects may be stronger for those who Cohesion live closer to the park/use the park more Physical + high **** likely Effects may be stronger for those who Activity live closer to the park/use the park more Access to + high ** likely Effects may be stronger for those who Healthy Food live closer to the park/use the community garden plots Key: + (positive) change that may improve health - (negative) change that may harm health = (no change) Magnitude: the number of people affected (high = many or most of the community) Strength of evidence: combination of the number of articles that support finding (**** = many peer reviewed journals; * = generally consistent with public health concepts) and the GIS analysis, community input, and other local data summary/analysis from this HIA 2 Health Concern Direction Magnitude Strength of Likelihood Distribution Evidence Likelihood: health determinants were characterized as likely, possible, unlikely, or uncertain based on the clarity and details of the SAP recommendations and the support for the connection in the literature Distribution: will the change affect certain populations or subpopulations more than others Social Cohesion Findings In the Commercial Development section, the SAP may promote social cohesion by strengthening relationships among business owners; offering new businesses and recreation amenities that act as informal gathering spaces for residents; increasing employment opportunities; increasing the sense of identity and belonging with signage and wayfinding; and decreasing crime and improving safety through the removal and redevelopment of blighted properties and appropriate lighting and streetscape improvements. In the Residential Development section, the SAP may promote social cohesion by introducing new residents into the community that may increase opportunities for new social ties. Additionally, social cohesion can be promoted by ensuring housing stock remains affordable to current residents, thereby reducing residential turnover and maintaining social networks. However, the Residential recommendations could decrease social cohesion if new residential infill housing units cost more and as a result of increases in property values and taxes, displacing existing residents and breaking their social ties; and if income inequality between new and current residents increases. In the Natural Environments section, the SAP may promote social cohesion by preserving natural and well-vegetated areas and incorporating natural features into future development; increasing access to parks, trails and natural areas; and promoting development and programming that would preserve the environment and/or bring the community together to promote social bonding. In the Transportation section, the SAP may promote social cohesion by decreasing traffic speeds, increasing use of traffic calming treatments, encouraging streetscape features, and improving sidewalk conditions which will all improve the pedestrian environment to encourage more walking and neighborly interaction, especially for older adults and youth who rely on active forms of transportation to get to social activities. In the Park Planning section, the SAP may promote social cohesion by developing the Gary/New Duluth Community Center and Recreation Area which may enhance residents’ sense of belonging or identity with the neighborhood and provide activities where residents interact with each other and build social networks. Physical Activity Findings In the Commercial Development section, the SAP may promote physical activity by attracting new businesses for residents to walk to; improving the pedestrian environment; increasing the number of jobs within walking or bicycling distance; and reducing crime by developing and removing vacant and blighted properties and increasing the number of people out and about in the community. 3 In the Residential Development section, the SAP may promote physical activity by increasing the number of households within walking distance of recreation opportunities. In the Natural Environment section, the SAP may promote physical activity by increasing recreation opportunities, such as trail extensions and access to natural areas and the St. Louis River through sidewalks and trails; and also by providing active and engaging opportunities for the community and visitors to practice stewardship and enjoy Gary-New Duluth’s natural features. In the Transportation section, the SAP may promote physical activity by decreasing traffic speeds, increasing use of traffic calming treatments, encouraging streetscape features, and improving sidewalk conditions, which will all improve the pedestrian environment to encourage more walking and active transportation; improving the sidewalk network and overall sidewalk conditions; and designating a bicycle lane. In the Park Planning section, the SAP may promote physical activity by developing the proposed Gary/New Duluth Community Center and Recreation Area concept. Access to Healthy Food Findings In the Commercial Development section, the SAP may increase