21st Century Infrastructure: Creating Sustainable Communities through General Plans and the Healthy Community Design Toolkit

Partnering for Success

• Cynthia Melde, MS, Arizona Department of Health Services

• Vincent Lopez, Maricopa County Department of Public Health

• Felipe Zubia, AICP, ReSEED Advisors• Serena Unrein, Arizona Public Interest

Research Group (PIRG)• Dean Brennan, FAICP

Partnering for Success

• Linking Physical Environment & Health Of Community Residents

• Policy And Community Change• Transportation Issues And Policy Change• Process For Policy Change• Toolkit For Policy Change

Cynthia Melde, MS, Arizona Department of Health Services

At the Intersection: Transit and Public Health

What is Health?

Health is the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

- World Health Organization

2000

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1990, 2000, 2010

(*BMI 30, or about 30 lbs. overweight for 5’4” person)

2010

1990

No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% 25%–29% ≥30%

Modes of Transportation and Obesity

USA

Canada

Norway UK

France

Germany

Netherlands

Denmark

Austria

Switzerla

nd

SwedenIta

ly0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90Obesity

Car

Walk and Bike

Factors Responsible for Health

Physical Activity and Fitness

•Public Transit Users:▫Spend a median of 19 minutes daily walking to

and from transit ▫29 percent achieve 30 minutes of physical

activity during transit access trips▫Tend to weigh 3-7 lbs less than non-transit

users

Respiratory

Emissions Emissions

• Bus idling• Older diesel buses• Bus Depots in lower

income neighborhoods• Concentration near

major roadways

• Reduce number of vehicles on the road

• Use Electric or state of the art engine

• Emission reduction programs

Injury

•Transit vehicle occupants have about one-tenth the fatality rate as car occupants

•Per capita traffic fatalities decline as transit ridership increases in a community

Community Cohesion

•Increase opportunity for interaction while walking, waiting at bus stops, and riding on transit vehicles

•Helps increase connections and contacts between neighbors

•Increase neighborhood safety

Mental Health• Many commuters find public transportation

less stressful than driving• Increase interaction • Access

• Access educational and work opportunities• Affordability

• Lower cost for transportation

Basic Mobility: Essential Services•Particularly for disabled and

disadvantaged▫Health Equity

•Connect to▫Grocery Store▫Healthcare Providers▫Banking▫Education▫Social and Recreational activities

YOU are Public Health

Policy and Built Environment

Maricopa County Department of Public Health Office of Public Health Policy

Vincent Lopez

Social IsolationNegative Health Outcomes

•Acute and chronic stress•Increased vulnerability to natural disasters and epidemics•Mental illness•Substance abuse•Reduced life expectancy•Violence

Relation to Built Environment

Neighborhood Design•Long commutes•Few public gathering spaces•Lack of access to goods and servicesTransportation•Lack of access to public transitHousing•Housing instability promotes highly transient home occupancy

Policy Recommendations

Zoning•Promote increased public space, walkable neighborhoods, and mixed-use developmentRedevelopment•Develop public venues, including parks, open spaces, libraries, cultural facilities, and pedestrian corridorsParks & Recreation•Improve parks, recreation facilities and open spaces for community mingling

Unsafe StreetsNegative Health Outcomes

•Injuries and fatalities•Inactivity and associated outcomes including obesity•Stress

Relation to Build Environment

Street Design•Focus on auto use yields fewer lanes for bicycles, high traffic speed and congestion, noise pollution and inadequate sidewalksPed & Bike FeaturesLack of or poorly maintained pedestrian wheelchair, and stroller amenities such as walkways, crosswalks

Policy Recommendations

Zoning•Ensure zoning for bicycle and pedestrian routesRedevelopment•Develop pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure in project areasSchools•Safe Routes to SchoolsParks & Recreation•Ensure safe streets, walkways, and bike paths around parks or open spaces

Lack of Physical ActivityNegative Health Outcomes

•Attention deficit disorder•Cancer•Depression•Diabetes•Heart disease•Obesity •Stress•Stroke

Relation to Built Environment

Community Access•Limited or no open space or parks•School land unavailable after school hoursSafety Concerns•Poorly Maintained parks•Outdoor activity limited by air pollutionAuto Dependency •Time spent commuting diminishes time for other activity

Policy Recommendations

Zoning•Adopt mixed-use residential, commercial and office zoning•Adopt complete streets design guidelinesTransportation•Expand Safe Routes to School programsPark and Recreation•Ensure safe, well-maintained parksSchools•Joint use agreements

Unsafe NeighborhoodsNegative Health Outcomes

•Lack of outdoor or physical activity due to fear of crime•Social isolation•Stress•Violence

Relation to Built Environment

Neighborhood Design•Spatially and racially segregated housing•Limited access to essential services•Lack of parks or safe places to play and congregate•Concentration of alcohol and tobacco retailers

Policy Recommendations

Zoning•Require developers to provide for a mix of housing types and affordability levelRedevelopment•Rehabilitate blighted propertiesTransportation•Safe transportation optionParks & Recreation•Access to parks and recreational facilities in underserved communities

Polluted Air, Soil and WaterNegative Health Outcomes

•Asthma•Birth defects•Cancer•Heart disease•Lung disease•Neurological disorders•Reproductive disorders

Relation to Built Environment

•Proximity of sensitive sites (schools, housing pedestrian and bike paths, parks and recreation) to sources of air pollution•Lack of green space or trees to buffer or filter pollution•Auto-orientated housing development

Policy Recommendations

General & Area Plans•Promote transit-oriented and compact, mixed-use developmentZoning•Update building codes to incorporate green building principles

•Modern city planning and public health arose together in the rapidly growing industrialized cities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

•Early planners first began to zone city blocks to buffer residential neighborhoods from polluting industries, and sanitary sewers were built to prevent cholera epidemics.

Partnership/Collaboration

Partnership/Collaboration Opportunities with Public Health

General Plans & Transportation Policy

Serena UnreinArizona PIRG Education Fund

Impacts of Policy Decisions

• Impacts of our policies (or lack of policies) in recent years:▫High transportation costs▫Long commutes ▫Loss of desert landscape▫Increase in the urban heat island effect▫Fewer affordable housing choices ▫Etc.

These problems negatively affect public health, economic development, and quality of life in Arizona.

Arizona’s explosive growth in recent years +a lack of policies supporting livable

communities__________________________________=Negative impacts for Arizona residents

So how do we change course?

•To solve these problems, long-term systemic change and a variety of efforts will be needed.

•General plans are a good opportunity to implement policies supporting livable communities

What are General Plans?•A general plan is a comprehensive, long-range

statement of goals and related policies ▫Blueprint for the future growth and development

•Consists of seventeen different “elements”▫Transportation

•Required by state law•Must be updated every 10 years•Many counties, cities, and towns updating now

▫Have until 2015 to complete update

Livable Communities Coalition

•Who is the Livable Communities Coalition?▫The LCC’s mission is to promote livable

communities through education and advocacy.

▫The LCC unites a broad range of planning, transportation, housing, and environmental organizations and government agencies from throughout Arizona

LCC’s Vision for Arizona• Mixed land uses• Preserve community character• Environmentally responsive design• Range of housing types and prices• Variety of transportation choices• Encourage compact development• Viable economic mix of both local business and

national ones• Safe neighborhoods• Promoting healthy living• Community engagement

How can the LCC help?

•The LCC role in General Plans▫Work directly in 4 municipalities▫Provide resources for other communities

across the state▫Healthy Community Design Toolkit

•LCC Members▫Expertise from a variety of fields and issue

areas

Arizona’s FutureDo we want to go down the same path we’ve been going down?

Our Opportunity

•Let’s use General Plans and other opportunities to create better policies and a better quality of life for Arizona.

http://thecityfix.com/files/2010/06/losangelestraffic.jpghttp://www.valleymetro.org/images/uploads/lightrail_images/portland-place.jpg

Transportation – Land Use Connection• Relationship between land use and

transportation is at the center of smart growth strategies.

• Direct link between land use patterns and investment in transportation facilities.

http://opencommunities.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/urban-sprawl-florida-428x284.jpghttp://www.abacuspm.com/corp/export/sites/

abacus/resources/images/Mosaic_Condominium.jpg

Complete Streets• History

• Barbara McCann – Smart Growth America

• 2003 Complete Streets

• Definition• 2005 National Complete Streets

Coalition

COMPLETE STREETS are:

“Designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a complete street.”

Barbara McCann speaks to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about Complete Streets.  photo by Steve Davis: http://www.bmccann.net/page2.html

• AARP• Planning Complete Streets

for an Aging America

• American Planning Association• Complete Streets: Best

Policy and Implementation Practices

• T4 America• Dangerous By Design

Complete Streets• Complete Streets History Definition Partnerships

Partnerships

• Why• Safety, Public Health• Resource Protect• Community Building

• Goals/Benefits• Promote adoption of local,

regional, state and federal design policies

• Secure funding• Improve Safety• Contribute to a Health

Community• Ease Congestion• Improve Air Quality

Missoula, MT http://streetswiki.wikispaces.com/Complete+Streets

Partnerships

1. Determine Contexta. Urban, Suburban, Rural,

Neighborhood2. Identify Current Modes and Facilities

a. Inventory Facilities3. Identify Complete Streets Gaps

a. Bike/Ped, Transit Gaps4. Determine Additional Priorities

a. Green Streets, Economic Development, Historic Preservation

5. Determine Right-of-Way and Lanesa. Multimodal Design

6. Identify Additional Elementsa. Lighting, Shade, Signage, Street

Furniture, other enhancements

MAG Complete Streets Guidehhttp://www.azmag.gov/Documents/BaP_2011-01-

25_MAG-Complete-Streets-Guide-December-2010.pdf

Planning Process

• Success StoriesComplete Streets

Bridgeport Way – University Place, WA

Before After

• Success StoriesComplete Streets

La Jolla Blvd. – San Diego, CA

Before After

• Success StoriesComplete Streets

Curb and Bike Lane – Boulder, CO

Before After

• Arizona Success StoryAvondale, AZ – Western Avenue• 4-Lane Road with Center

Lane• Designed to Move Traffic• Lack of Visual Interest• Under-utilized Parcels• Lack of Pedestrian

Amenities

Complete Streets

IMPLEMENTATION

Arizona Success StoryAvondale, AZ – Western Avenue• Reduced to 2 Lane Road with no

Center Lane• Merging of Visioning with

Engineering Design

IMPLEMENTATION

Arizona Success StoryAvondale, AZ – Western Avenue• Reduced to 2 Lane Road with no

Center Lane• Merging of Visioning with

Engineering Design• New Development Maintain

historic setbacks creating visual interest

• Multi-Modal Design• Overall integration of Vision and

Design

Resources

• http://www.completestreets.org/webdocs/resources/cs-

• http://www.azmag.gov/Documents/BaP_2011-01-25_MAG-Complete-Streets-Guide-December-2010.pd

Toolkit for Policy Change

Dean Brennan, FAICPProject for Livable Communities

This neighborhood provides no connectivity for walking to the store,

to work, to school, to the park, or to ride public

transit.

This street lacks shade and protection for pedestrians from

vehicular traffic.

Walking Today…It’s a Challenge

Walking Today…It’s a Challenge

•Regional structure •Density and intensity•Land use mix•Street connectivity•Street scale•Aesthetic qualities

Dimensions of Community Design that Affect Physical ActivityDimensions of Community Design that Affect Physical Activity

Rethinking State and Local PlanningRethinking State and Local Planning

•Comprehensive and General Plans

•Regional, Area, and Neighborhood Plans

•Redevelopment Plans

•Retrofitting Suburbia

• Functional Plans▫ Health services▫ Bicycle and pedestrian▫ Transit▫ Streets and circulation▫ Trails▫ Parks and Open Space▫ Housing▫ Economic development▫ Education▫ Climate Change

Rethinking State and Local Planning

Healthy Community Design Toolkit

Partnering for SuccessUsing the Toolkit

•The Engaged Participant/Resident Planner•Review the Local Plan•Plan Format•How to Contact Your Local Government•Who to Contact

Partnering for SuccessGeneral Plan Checklist

The Circulation Element addresses:• Adoption of a Complete Streets Policy• Safe Routes to School Programs• Transit Oriented Development (TOD)• Transportation infrastructure that provides for an

interconnected system throughout the community/region that serves all residents and minimizes/mitigates impacts on neighborhoods

• Action Plan for Bicycle Friendly Communities

Partnering for SuccessExample Policies

The Circulation Element • Establish design guidelines and/or level of service standards for a range of

users, including access for the disabled and bicyclists.• Incorporate the Complete Streets elements as the guiding principles for a

community based Complete Streets Policy.• Encourage investment in Complete Streets.• Develop and implement street design guidelines that create walkable, pleasant

environments.• Identify street trees as an important technique for stress- and crime-reduction.• Adopt universal design principles that address facilities such as sidewalks,

lighting, ramps for wheelchairs and bicycles, parking in rear of buildings, and windows that face the sidewalk/ street.

Partnering for SuccessTOOLS AND TOOLKITS

• AARP – Complete Streets Policy Inventory and Evaluation http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/2009_02_streets_5.pdf

• AARP – Livable Communities: An Evaluation Guide http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/d18311_communities.pdf

•Transportation and Health Toolkit• http://www.apha.org/advocacy/priorities/issues/transportatio

n/Toolkit.htm• US DOT – Bikeability Checklist• http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/Bikeabilit

y/index.htm

Creating a Pedestrian Friendly Public Realm

Wide sidewalks and shared paths Shade, shade, and more shade Safe crosswalks Amenities Sense of place Convenience Safety & Aesthetics

CONDUCT COMMUNITY AUDITS

Partnering for SuccessBUILD MORE AND BETTER

SIDEWALKS

MULTI-USE TRAILS

TRAFFIC CALMING

BIKE PATHS

Partnering for Success

CREATE WALKABLE STREETS

Partnering for Success

Toolkit for Policy ChangeQUESTIONS?

Partnering for Success

Contact Information

•Cynthia Melde – cynthia.melde@azdhs.gov•Vincent Lopez – vincentlopez@mail.maricopa.gov•Serena Unrein – sunrein@arizonapirg.org•Felipe Zubia – felipez@reseedllc.com•Dean Brennan – dbrennan.plc@cox.net

PART TWO

What are some of the issues you are facing in your community?

Think about:▫Walkabiltiy ▫Bikeability▫Public

Transportation▫Access (people with

disabilities, elderly)

Who are potential partners to work on solutions to these issues?•Think about:

▫Stakeholders▫Champions▫Health

Partners

What tools can you use to find solutions to these issues?

How can you create long-term solutions to these issues in your community?