Abstract

The City of Denver’s Departments of Public Health and Environment and Community Planning and Development have worked together using Health Impact Assessments (HIA) and Health in All Policies (HiAP) frameworks to formalize using a health equity lens for city planning and resource prioritization. Previous land use and transportation planners did not consider health or equity impacts on future growth and development. HIAs and a health-focused approach were initiated with neighborhood planning and expanded into the Blueprint Denver plan for land use and transportation. The Neighborhood Equity Index was also developed to help city agencies prioritize financial and programmatic resources to be more equitable. Lessons learned from the process include the need to develop relationships across organizations, more data and mapping can inform policy decisions and the need for health and equity champions inside and outside of organizations.

Highlights

  • Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Health in All Policies (HiAP) have been used widely in the last decade in the U.S to bring health research and evidence into civic decision-making

  • HiAP is a collaborative approach to improving a community by incorporating health, sustainability and equity considerations into decision-making across government agencies and policy areas (Change Lab Solutions, 2015)

  • While HIA has always included an analysis of health equity – the differences in the distribution of health impacts across groups of people – HiAP has more recently included the consideration of health equity, but economic, social, environmental, and racial equity, among others (Public Health Institute, 2019)

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Summary

Introduction

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Health in All Policies (HiAP) have been used widely in the last decade in the U.S to bring health research and evidence into civic decision-making. If a neighborhood scores a 1 in the built environment sub-score (even if the overall index score is a 3), it’s an indication that poor access to green space and healthy food may be disproportionately driving health inequity in that neighborhood It helps justify the need for public health, public works, city planning, and parks and recreation to work together to improve access to those resources, whether through changes in mobility opportunities, acquisition of available land for park space, or education about healthy eating and active living. It is important to start building relationships early, even on a small project or initiative, so that mutual trust is in place when significant opportunities arise to collaborate

Data and mapping are needed to inform policy
You need health and equity champions both inside and outside the organization
Continue to embed health and equity into City processes
Explore health and equity differences beyond geographic boundaries
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