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Marcus Harcus for Minneapolis City Council - 4th Ward, November 3rd, 2009!
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The following is a Framework for Healthy Communities that I extracted from the publication “Why Place Matters: Building a Movement for Healthy Communities.”
It was published by PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity by Lifting Up What Works.®
If you’re inclined, check out their website: http://www.policylink.org
I recommend viewing the Equitable Development Toolkit.
ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
Employment, income, wealth, and assets: The quality and quantity of employment opportunities available to residents and the amount of collective wealth and assets in the community can influence residents’ health.
Protective factors: Living-wage jobs with health benefits; safe work places. Savings, retirement, and homeownership provide economic stability.
Risk factors: Large numbers of community residents with low-wage jobs with no benefits and unsafe working conditions. Racial and economic segregation and concentrated poverty lead to higher stress and premature mortality.
Neighborhood economic conditions: Presence of commercial services and grocery stores, banks, and restaurants.
Protective factors: Attracts public and private investment in services and infrastructure.
Risk factors: Disinvestment leads to loss of jobs and businesses and a decline in property values.
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Cultural characteristics: Values, attitudes, and standards of behavior (including diet) connected to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or nationality, as well as from other types of social and cultural groupings.
Protective factors: Cohesion, a sense of community, and access to key cultural institutions.
Risk factors: Racism, language barriers, and acceptance of unhealthy behaviors. Absence of expectations that promote healthy behavior and community safety.
Social support and networks: Friends, family, colleagues, and neighborhood acquaintances. These networks exist within the community and beyond it, such as churches and clubs.
Protective factors: Social capital that can provide access to social supports and economic opportunities, as well as to certain health services and resources. Adult role models and peer networks are influential to young people.
Risk factors: Lack of social supports and role models. Residents do not have access to networks outside the neighborhood that can link them to employment and other key opportunities (sometimes referred to as an absence of “bridging” social capital).
Community leadership and organization: Level of capacity for mobilization, civic engagement, and political power.
Protective factors: Community leaders and organizations provide needed supports and services. Political power allows needed resources to be leveraged into the neighborhood.
Risk factors: Lack of leadership, organization, and political power impedes the flow of resources needed for neighborhood problem-solving and hampers community leadership development.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Environmental Quality: Air, water, land.
Protective factors: Policies and practices that maintain a clean, healthy environment
Risk factors: Presence of and exposure to toxics and pollution in residential areas and in work environments.
Built Environment and Infrastructure: Housing, parks, recreation facilities, utilities.
Protective factors: Access to affordable, high-quality housing, local parks, practical opportunities to walk, run, and bicycle. Urban design that supports physical activity.
Risk factors: Exposure to lead paint, problems with inadequate sanitation and pest infestation, dangerous types of work, and urban design that inhibits physical activity.
Geographic Access to Opportunities Throughout the Region: Access to roads or transit connecting to resources within the neighborhood as well as the broader region.
Protective factors: Convenient location and mobility allow access to services, employment, and cultural and recreational resources.
Risk factors: Isolation from job centers, particularly areas without convenient public transit access. Distance from recreational facilities or safe parks for health-promoting activities such as exercise.
SERVICES ENVIRONMENT
Health Services: Accessibility, affordability, and quality of care for individuals and families.
Protective factors: Necessary, accessible care delivered in a culturally sensitive manner in satisfactory health facilities with well-trained and culturally appropriate practitioners.
Risk factors: Lack of access to necessary healthcare services, while what is available is culturally inappropriate and of poor quality.
Public Safety: Police and fire protection, emergency services.
Protective factors: Desired and necessary amount of police and fire protection. Little crime, lots of street/sidewalk activity and interaction.
Risk factors: Prevalence of violence breeds fear, isolation, and a reluctance to seek even needed services, as residents avoid leaving their homes and spending time outside.
Community and Public Support Services: Neighborhood-level public services, including schools, parks and recreation, transit, sanitation, and childcare centers. Community institutions include churches, social clubs and block groups.
Protective factors: Quality support services act as important neighborhood institutions providing needed services as well as venues for neighborhood meetings and leadership development.
Risk factors: Needed services are not available while those located in the neighborhood are undependable and of poor quality. |
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