Building Healthy Communities through Land Use and Design

The Washington legislature passed Chapter 360, Laws of 2005 (ESSB 5186), which sets out a policy for promoting physical activity through urban planning and transportation approaches.  County and city comprehensive plans are directed, wherever possible, to utilize urban planning approaches that promote physical activity.  The Washington State Public Health Association adopted Resolution 06-01 ( 35 KB) Addressing the Public Health Implications of
the Built Environment.   

This Web page is part of MRSC's Building Healthy Communities Series.  It provides information resources focused on building healthy communities through  land use and design.  See also MRSC related pages  Promoting Physical Activity and Transportation Planning

• Planning for Bicycling and Walking: 2005 Amendments to the Growth Management Act (  92 KB), Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, August 2005
• Active Living by Design - A National program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is a part of the UNC School of Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• The Built Environment and Health:  Eleven Profiles of Neighborhood Transformation, The Prevention Institute, July 2004 (  1.53 MB)
• Calculators
  • Healthy Growth Calculator - Sierra Club
  • Walk Score - Walk Score is a project of Front Seat Management.  Its mission is to promote walkable communities.
• Community Design: A Toolkit for Building Activity into Daily Life (  8.46 MB), Metropolitan Design Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2004  - Prepared for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota-sponsored conference on Health Implications of Community Design: Moving to Combat Obesity, this toolkit provides background information and tools for addressing this issue. The toolkit is focused on walking rather than cycling.
• Creating a Healthy Environment: The Impact of the Built Environment on Public Health (  814 KB) - Richard J. Jackson, MD, MPH, and Chris Kochtitzky, MSP, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sprawlwatch Clearing House Monograph Series
• Creating a Regulatory Blueprint for Healthy Community Design, by Joseph Schilling, International City Management Association
• Does the Built Environment Physical Activity? Examining the Evidence, National Academies Transportation Research Board and Institute of Medicine, Special Report 282, 2005. 
  • News Release, 1-11-05
  • Full Report
• Designing and Building Healthy Places - Centers for Disease Control
  • Designing and Building Healthy Places Articles - Centers for Disease Control
• Example Comprehensive Plan Policies to Support Physically Active Communities ( 581 KB), Washington State Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development, September 2007.
• Healthy Communities Through Design -  New Jersey Smart Growth Gateway
• Healthy Urban Design: Maryland’s Smart Codes and the Pedestrian Environment by Kelly J. Clifton, Andréa Livi, and Rodney Harrell, National Center for Smart Growth and Research Education, Smart Growth Resource Library
• Linking Smart Growth and Active Living and Health - Smart Growth Resource Library, Smart Growth Resource Network
• Model Smart Land Development Regulations,  4.8 — Model Pedestrian Overlay District (POD) Model On-Site Access, Parking, and Circulation Ordinance, Model Shared Parking Ordinance, and Model Street Connectivity Standards Ordinance - APA Research Smart Growth Codes
• Planning and Designing the Physically Active Community Overview -  American Planning Association received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to conduct research and prepare a PAS Report and other educational materials to encourage changes to the built environment that will promote physical activity as a means of improving the health of Americans.
  • Planning and Designing the Physically Active Community Resource List ( 132 KB)
  • Zoning to Promote Health and Physical Activity, by Marya Morris, Zoning Practice, June 04. Library Loan
• Social Capital (and Urban Design) - Centers for Disease Control
• A Study of Land Use, Transportation, Air Quality, and Health (LUTAQH) in King County, WA, Executive Summary  (  935 KB), September 2005.