Healthy Communities

Alfred Fraijo Jr., partner at Sheppard Mullin, shares frustration with what he sees as a state inaction on housing and L.A.'s legacy of piecemeal planning and outdated zoning.

October 5, 2020 - The Planning Report

Among unwelcome lessons of COVID-19 is growing evidence of what was already broken in politics and business. Ben Brown looks at making bold changes in order to improve the lives of the left out and left behind.

May 10, 2020 - PlaceShakers

Evidence-based research can help planners create truly healthy communities. No junk-science please.

March 25, 2020 - Todd Litman

In many locales, instruments like traffic studies take pedestrian health into little account. According to Lark Lo, healthy communities haven't been much of a priority at all.

November 18, 2017 - Next City

Architects at Gresham, Smith & Partners discuss designing for health and wellness, aligning with the US Green Building Council's WELL Building Standard.

December 15, 2016 - Modern Cities

An article by Colleen Fuller highlights collaborative initiatives in Maine's food system as well as key challenges the state faces in reaching a goal of increasing and broadening access to, and consumption of, local food.

March 8, 2016 - Maine Association of Planners Front Page

Research conducted in Flint, Michigan, found that changing the location of the local farmers' market had a dramatic effect in how residents shopped.

February 23, 2016 - NPR

Albert Lea, Minnesota proves that small towns can reinvent themselves—often faster than big cities—and that walkable communities aren't only possible in urban neighborhoods.

June 13, 2015 - MinnPost

Urban Land surveys ten of the best recent examples of development projects that incorporate agricultural facilities—from New York to new Orleans.

January 6, 2015 - Urban Land

In a city of increasingly scarce land, the Los Angeles Neighborhood land Trust has a track record of ushering community gardens and other public health resources in low-income communities.

January 2, 2015 - Seedstock

Melanie Haiken shares insight into the findings of the American Fitness Index (AFI), which assesses the "Health and Community Fitness Status of the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas."

June 4, 2014 - Forbes

An article from the SPUR's "The Urbanist" shares insight into the work of the Southeast Food Access Working Group (SEFA).

May 19, 2014 - SPUR Urbanist

Public health was one of the many topics to merge from the American Planning Association's recent national gathering. Here's a look at the proceedings from the conference's Planning Healthy Communities Symposium.

May 10, 2014 - APA Conference Blog

Often times, the community development field and health philanthropy have worked in the same neighborhoods, but separately. This is changing, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Marjorie Paloma told Shelterforce how.

August 28, 2012 - Shelterforce Magazine

Sixty percent of premature deaths are accounted for not by medical care or lack thereof, but by social circumstances, environmental conditions, and behavioral patterns. So perhaps the medical field on its own can't prevent them.

August 2, 2012 - Shelterforce

Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach are trying to transform homes, workplaces, and schools to improve public health, writes Anna Gorman for the Los Angeles Times.

October 5, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

During these harsh economic times I’ve read about some of the most creative and inspiring planning and design projects in my career. Whether they are the product of the underemployed looking for a creative outlet or a resetting of our values and goals, something magical is happening in the world of planning. Below are 5 things that have inspired my inner planner.  

September 15, 2011 - Melissa Hege

Automobile travel imposes significant health risks. Traffic fatality rates, obesity and related illnesses such as diabetes, and total air pollution emissions tend to increase with per capita annual vehicle mileage.

July 25, 2011 - Todd Litman

Natural and artificial light have a significant effect on the experience of hospital patients and can actually reduce stress and hospital time, says Rosalyn Cama, an interior designer and researcher specializes in health care design.

May 10, 2011 - Metropolis Magazine

By all logic, the comic strip character Dagwood should be fat, sick and impoverished due to his gluttonous eating, sedentary habits, and automobile-dependent lifestyle. Blondie should worry about his high blood pressure and clogged arteries [...]

May 4, 2011 - Todd Litman