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
Better Urban Planning for Better Public Health (In the Real World)
A researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia offers three recommendations for planners to better negotiate the real world of politics and governance to help create healthier communities.
Empowering Doctors to Help Solve Housing Challenges
A survey of the programs taking a proactive approach to the role of housing in health outcomes, and a call for more collaboration between the housing and healthcare industries
Denver Tackling its Troubling Public Health Disparities
A distance of two miles can mean the difference of living more than ten years longer in the city of Denver. The city and its residents are gathering resources to improve public health outcomes in all the city's neighborhoods.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
The newest plan for the 710 corridor claims it will not displace any residents.
Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size
City planners say the new rules would ensure an efficient distribution of charging infrastructure across the city and prevent an overconcentration in residential areas.
Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
