The Plan4Health program has provided an avenue for chapters of the American Public Health Association and the American Planning Association to fund and complete projects that improve the public health outcomes of the built environment.
"From a program promoting walking in Indianapolis, to efforts to stock Linn County, Iowa, food pantries with nutritious foods, more than a dozen coalitions across the U.S. are making public health a planning priority, thanks to APHA and the American Planning Association," according to an article for the August issue of The Nation's Health, the publication of the American Public Health Association.
The projects described above are examples of the Plan4Health program, "in which APHA-affiliated state and regional public health associations formed coalitions with state planning association chapters on community planning projects with a public health focus." Such coalitions have applied for grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "to address physical activity and nutrition…"
The article includes more examples of the program at work as well as soundbites from those leading the program and its resulting efforts. For more info, the program also has its own website.
Read the full story: APHA partnering to promote public health, planning throughout US
APA Awards Funding to Local Projects Combating Chronic Disease
$2.25 million in funding exemplifies the broadening focus of the American Planning Association on public health outcomes at the local level.
How Planners Are Helping Build Healthy Food Infrastructure in Boise
The Idaho Plan4Health Coalition is exemplifying the role of planning in improving public health outcomes connected to healthy food and nutrition.
Making Healthy Places
The editors of the book "Making Healthy Places," recently published in a second edition by Island Press, discuss the intersections of public health and planning, including key concepts such as green gentrification, health impact assessments, and AI.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Brightline Florida files for bankruptcy
The transit company is over $5 billion in debt.
St. Louis Metro to test if single-car trains can reduce operating costs, maintain rider satisfaction
The pilot program will run from October to spring 2027, and begin with one single-car train operating on Metrolink’s Red and Blue lines.
Pennsylvania is building data centers in abandoned mines
Housing data centers in mines provides an alternative to destroying local forests and may spare residents from data centers’ noise and air pollution.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello