NACCHO conducted a series of focus groups to determine the roles of local health departments (LHDs) in land use planning; barriers to achieving full integration; and ways in which NACCHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can help LHDs participate in land use planning.
NACCHO developedaction stepsfor theHealthy People 2010objectives that relate to land use planning. The steps are designed to help LHDs put the HP2010 objectives into practice by taking a community design approach to environmental health.
Objective 8-1: Reduce the number of people exposed to air that does not meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's health-based standards for harmful air pollutants.
Objective 8-2: Increase use of alternative modes of transportation to reduce motor vehicle emissions and improve the nation's air quality.
Objective 8-4: Reduce air toxic emissions to decrease the risk of adverse health effects.
Objective 8-6: Reduce waterborne disease outbreaks arising from water intended for drinking among persons served by community water systems.
Objective 8-9: Reduce the number of beach closings that result from the presence of harmful bacteria.
A national Web-based survey of APA members and NACCHO members was conducted to collect data and information for organizations to: assess current practices in planning/public health collaboration; explore barriers and opportunities for increased collaboration between planners and public health professionals; and identify communities that have successfully addressed public health issues in the context of visioning/goal setting exercises, long-range comprehensive planning, and current land-use planning and implementation.
NACCHO has a number of community-based needs assessment tools and interagency collaboration tools and worksheets that can be tailored for use by communities/LHDs working on land use issues. Clickhereto find a description of each tool, specific recommendations about how to implement the tool, and links to downloadable worksheets and the tools themselves.
