| Summer 2008 Visit www.healthyplanning.org for a list of resources for nutrition and public health advocates who are interested in the connection between land use, economic development and redevelopment, and health.
Technical Assistance Available
Are you involved with the Network for a Healthy California’s Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Prevention (CX3)? Interested in how to use your CX3 data? Looking to develop next steps for outreach and implementation? Our staff can help you work to create environments that support healthy eating and physical activity. Contact us for more information.
We’re Hiring! Planning for Healthy Places seeks a full-time land use planner to join our Oakland office. Learn more here. Apply for Fall Internships at Planning for Healthy Places Undergraduate and graduate students with backgrounds in planning, policy analysis, public health, or related fields who can work 10-15 hours a week from our Oakland office are encouraged to apply. Please send a résumé, cover letter, and two-page writing sample to info@healthyplanning.org.
Upcoming Events Healthy Communities Web Dialogues
City and county officials around the state can connect with peers and experts on land use and health through a series of online dialogues taking place this summer and fall. Topics include “Factoring Resident Health into City and County Planning” and “Access to Healthy and Nutritious Foods: How Can Local Governments Combat Childhood Obesity?” This learning opportunity is hosted by the Institute for
Local Government's (ILG) Healthy Communities program, in collaboration with the Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership. To learn more about the series, visit ILG’s website. Sept. 9-12: ASTHO-NACCHO Joint Conference (Sacramento, CA). This is the year’s largest gathering of state and local public health officials, hosted by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Oct. 4-8: Community Food Security Coalition 12th Annual Conference (Philadelphia, PA & Cherry Hill, NJ). CFSC’s annual conference focuses on food security, food sovereignty, and healthy food systems. This year’s theme is "Restoring Our Urban and Rural Communities with Healthy Food." PHLP will be presenting sessions on planning for food systems and healthy food retail development. Oct-Nov: California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) Fall Convenings. These 2008 workshops – conducted by PHLP staff – are designed to
provide a deep understanding of land use, economic development, and redevelopment processes, policies, and strategies that can be used to create healthier environments. Contact Ruben Cantu at rcantu@cpehn.org for more information or to be a local area co-host. - Fresno: October 23
- San Diego: October 30
- Oakland: November 6
- Los Angeles: November 18
| Featured Resource:
Neighborhood Completeness Indicator San
Francisco's Neighborhood Completeness Indicator (NCI), designed to measure residents’ proximity to daily goods and services, is currently under development. The NCI may be useful for public health practitioners and advocates in other cities who are looking for ways to measure residents’ access to a diverse range of goods and services and want to plan holistically for future neighborhood needs. Learn more about this tool and find out how you can help shape it here or by emailing megan.wier@sfdph.org.
Eat Your City:
Public Policies to Support Community Gardening
 | | Photo Courtesy of Redwood Heights School Garden OUSD | Community gardens not only boost the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables in a neighborhood, they also provide an opportunity for exercise, green space, and community gatherings. But the gardens, often seen as an “interim” land use, can be difficult to sustain when development pressures increase. In a few forward-thinking municipalities, advocates have successfully worked with city agencies to adopt
policies that help establish and maintain community gardens.
Cities can be key partners in this effort in a variety of ways: - Encouraging the use of vacant lots for community gardens
- Identifying potential community garden sites on existing parks, schoolyards and other public areas, prioritizing the use of those sites for community gardens
- Offering residents classes on gardening or composting, especially in neighborhoods lacking access to healthy foods and/or green space
- Encouraging or requiring new building construction to incorporate green roofs or edible landscaping
One important way for a city to make a long-term commitment to community gardening is by adopting language in its zoning codes as well as the general plan, a key planning document that depicts the vision for a city’s future. In several cities (including Berkeley and Oakland, CA), community
gardening is designated a priority through their open space “element,” a component of the general plan. In Boston and Portland, Ore., the open space zoning code specifically includes community gardens as a permitted use. In some cities, community gardening is treated as a recreational amenity. Some cities have taken a more active role in establishing community gardens. Both Chicago and Seattle, for example, allow the city to use tax-delinquent and surplus land for community gardening. Many cities operate community gardens on city park land. Cities also can develop agreements with nonprofits to jointly acquire and manage land: the city provides infrastructure and support (such as water, leases, signage, insurance and liability), while nonprofit partners manage the gardens and related programs. Equitable Access
One concern for community gardening advocates is that garden space be available in underserved communities,
where the need for access to healthy foods and open space is greatest. A number of cities have established target goals to ensure gardens are geographically distributed to serve all residents. Seattle, for example, has committed to an “urban village” concept that assigns one garden per 2,500 residents. Other cities, including Berkeley and Seattle, have used their general plan to prioritize community garden development in high-density residential areas and low-income communities. For more information on how to promote community gardening through general plans, see How to Create and Implement Healthy General Plans, a new toolkit from Planning for Healthy Places. For a list of policies and programs supporting community gardening and ideas for how to implement them in your community, contact us.  \
About Us: Planning for Healthy Places works to engage public health advocates and practitioners in the land-use and economic development decision-making process throughout California. We develop toolkits, factsheets, model policies, and trainings for practitioners and advocates in the relationship between the built environment and public health, and provide
technical assistance for creating and implementing land use and economic development policies that support healthier communities. |
