The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, this week released the annual County Health Rankings. The rankings aim to inspire healthy community action.
An article on the Washington Post by Reid Wilson and Christopher Ingraham shares the data visualizations behind the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s annual County Health Rankings. The rankings use nearly three-dozen indicators to measure health outcomes across the country. Just as with last year’s rankings, the report makes the point that measures like high poverty, bad air and high obesity rates produce higher rates of premature deaths.
According to Wilson and Ingraham’s analysis of the rankings, “Southern states are more likely to have higher YPLL numbers. But the most extreme outliers are all in rural counties in North and South Dakota.”
The Washington Post coverage of the ranking includes ten maps “that best illustrate where Americans are healthiest, and why…” The maps include metrics like air pollution (fine particles per cubic meter); percent of adults that a report a Body Mass Index higher than 30; long commutes (percentage driving more than 30 minutes each way); and percent of children under age 18 in poverty.
FULL STORY: The 10 maps that illustrate the healthiest counties in America

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Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
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Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

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Opinion: Transit Agencies Must View Service Cuts as Last Resort
Reducing service could cripple transit systems by pushing more riders to consider car ownership, making future recovery even less certain.
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