Planning for Healthy Communities
The Alameda County Planning for Healthy Communities Network seeks to strengthen collaborations between public health, planners, engineers, policy makers, community based organizations, and community members to improve the health and well-being of our communities. The goal is to create system changes in the planning and design of the built environment by incorporating the relationship of the built environment to health, thereby addressing a root cause of health inequities. This has been accomplished by creating a learning and networking community where healthy built environment issues can be shared and discussed. The learning and relationships built through these efforts are serving to change institutional practices and shape community planning policies.
Relevant Data and Reports:
Health data:
Data and Reports – links to many reports on the Alameda County Public Health website including city and regional reports.
School data:
Education Data Partnership – fiscal, demographic, and performance data on public K-12 schools.
California Basic Educational Data System – an annual collection of basic student and staff data; includes student enrollment, graduates, dropouts, course enrollment, enrollment in alternative education, gifted and talented education, and more.
Crime data:
U.S. Department of Justice – crime trends from the FBI’s uniform crimes reports, homicide trend statistics, and justice expenditures and employment.
California Department of Justice Crime Data – crime, clearances, arrests, dispositions, expenditures, and personnel.
Injury data:
California Injury Data – available at the EPICenter.
SWITRS – download Access 2000 database of geocoded traffic injuries in Alameda County from 1996-2007. Also download the explanatory document. For more information, contact: Matt Beyers, matt.beyers@acgov.org, (510) 267-3225
Resources
- BARHII Healthy Planning Guide – policy recommendations for various built environment issues, as well as action steps for public health.
- Healthy Development Measurement Tool – a comprehensive evaluation metric to consider health needs in urban development plans and projects.
- BARHII Built Environment Work Group – a regional group creating links between planners and health professionals.
- Healthy Planning – Planning for Healthy Places, a program of Public Health Law and Policy, has toolkits and other resources.
- Public Health Terms for Planners and Planning Terms for Public Health Professionals
- Planning Communities: What Health Has To Do With It – Contra Costa County document about the history of planning and health and effects of planning on health.
- LEED for Neighborhood Development – rating system integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design.
Contact Information
Mona Mena
Phone: (510) 618-2035
mona.mena@acgov.org
Pam Willow
Phone: (510) 208-5905
pam.willow@acgov.org
For data inquiries:
Matt Beyers
matt.beyers@acgov.org
Phone: (510) 267-3225