Healthy Places - Publications

There are many helpful publications mentioned on the topic pages. Here is an even bigger, growing collection of publications to help ensure public health is considered when making policy, systems, and environmental changes.

Most of the publications listed here are provided in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF). These files should be easy to read on a computer or portable electronic device with using document reader software. We have collected these files from their original authors to display them all in one place. This helps to prevent broken web links although in a few situations the author may have a more recent version of a report available on their website.

Highlighted Resources

AARP Rural Livability Workshop Report

AARP's newest free publication explores "how and why small towns and remote communities are working to become more livable for older adults and people of all ages." Check it out here!

University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute Healthy Rural Community Design Tool

This took was designed to help planners in rural areas incorporate health into their comprehensive plans. Version 3.1.1 of the tool is available HERE!

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

In November 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2^nd edition, which outlines the amounts and types of physical activity needed to maintain or improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The document also highlights new benefits of physical activity and tested strategies that can be used to get all Americans more active. HHS's Move Your Way campaign resources are designed to help explain the Physical Activity Guidelines to consumers. These resources include interactive tools, fact sheets, videos and graphics that are available for communities, health professionals and others to promote the health benefits of meeting the new recommendations, along with tips for how to help people become more active.

More from AARP:

The AARP Livability Roadmap to Livability Collection is a set of six workbooks with strategies and solutions to make a community great for people of all ages.

Author	Document Link

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry	The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), 2014
Alliance for Biking and Walking	Bicycling and Walking in the United States Benchmarking Report, 2014
America Walks	Steps to a Walkable Community: A Guide for Citizens, Planners, and Engineers
American Academy of Pediatrics	The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children, 2009
American Planning Association	Healthy Planning: An Evaluation of Comprehensive and Sustainability Plans Addressing Public Health, 2012
American Planning Association	The Benefits of Street-Scale Features for Walking and Biking, 2015
American Public Health Association	Championing Change: Elected Officials Act Locally to Make Their Communities Healthier
Canadian Medical Association	Health and the Built Environment: A Review, 2012
California Department of Public Health	A Guide for Health Impact Assessment, 2010
CDC MMWR	Active Transportation Surveillance – United States, 1999-2012, 2015
Center for Housing Policy	The Impacts of Affordable Housing on Health: A Research Summary, 2015
Center for Housing Policy	The Positive Impacts of Affordable Housing on Health, 2007
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	A Practitioner’s Guide for Advancing Health Equity: Community Strategies for Preventing Chronic Disease, 2013
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	The Power of Prevention: Chronic disease…the public health challenge of the 21st century, 2009
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	Community Health Assessment for Population Health Improvement, 2013
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps	What Works? Strategies to Improve Rural Health, 2016 What Works for Health Overview, 2016
Environmental Protection Agency	Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions Among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality, 2013
Environmental Protection Agency	Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Urban and Suburban Zoning Codes, 2009
Environmental Protection Agency	Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Rural Planning, Zoning, and Development Codes, 2012
Environmental Protection Agency	Building Vibrant Communities, 2009
Environmental Protection Agency	EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model, 2008
Environmental Protection Agency	Sustainable Growth Guidelines, 2009
Environmental Protection Agency	Youth Travel to School: Community Design Relationships with Mode Choice, Vehicle Emissions, and Healthy Body Weight, 2008
Federal Highway Administration	Creating Livable Communities: How the transportation decision making process can support more livable community outcomes, 2011
Federal Highway Administration	Healthier Generations: A Look at the 10 Years of the Federal Safe Routes to School Program, 2015
Federal Highway Administration	Resident’s Guide to Creating Safer Communities for Walking and Biking, 2015
Federal Highway Administration	Road Diet Information Guide, 2014
George Washington University	Improving Community Health through Hospital Community Benefit Spending: Charting a Path to Reform, 2016
Governors’ Institute on Community Design	Policies that Work: A Governors’ Guide to Growth and Development
Health Resources in Action	Leveraging Multi-Sector Investments: New Opportunities to Improve the Health and Vitality of Communities, 2014
HIA of the Americas Working Group	Guidance and Best Practices for Stakeholder Participation in Health Impact Assessments – V1, 2012
HIA Practice Standards Working Group	Minimum Elements and Practice Standards for HIA – V3, 2014
International City/County Management Association	Brownfields Redevelopment: A Guidebook for Local Governments and Communities, 2014
International Journal of Environment and Health	Designing and Building Healthy Places for Children, 2008
Journal of the American Medical Association	Association of Neighborhood Walkability With Change in Overweight, Obesity, and Diabetes
National Center for Safe Routes to School	Advancing Transportation and Health, 2013
National Cooperative Highway Research Program	Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation Along Existing Roads—ActiveTrans Priority Tool Guidebook, 2015
National Recreation and Parks Association	Quantifying the Contribution of Public Parks to Physical Activity and Health: Introducing SOPARC, 2014
National Recreation and Parks Association	Parks Build Healthy Communities: Success Stories
National Prevention Council	National Prevention Strategy, 2011
National Housing Council	How Investing in Housing Can Save on Health Care, 2016
National Housing Council	The Role of Anchor Institutions in Restoring Neighborhoods, 2016
New York City	Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design, 2010
New York Restoration Project	Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests, 2011
New York Urban Green	Building Resiliency Task Force, 2013
Partnership for Sustainable Communities	Federal Resources for Sustainable Rural Communities, 2012
Partnership for Sustainable Communities	Supporting Sustainable Rural Communities, 2011
Project for Public Spaces	The Case for Healthy Places
Public Health Institute	Health in All Policies: A Guide for State and Local Governments
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation	A New Way to Talk About the Social Determinants of Health, 2010
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation	A State-by-State Look at Adult Health, 2009
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation	Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America – Executive Summary, 2009
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation	Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America, 2009
Safe Routes to School National Partnership	At the Intersection of Active Transportation and Equity, 2015
Safe Routes to School National Partnership	Promoting Active Transportation: An Opportunity for Public Health
Safe Routes to School National Partnership	Taking Back the Streets and Sidewalks: How Safe Routes to School and Community Safety Initiatives Can Overcome Violence and Crime, 2015
Smart Growth America	Amazing Place: Six Cities Using the New Recipe for Economic Development, 2016
Smart Growth America	Building Resilient States: A Framework for Agencies, 2015
Smart Growth America	The Best Complete Streets Policies, 2014
Smart Growth Network	Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation, 2002
Smart Growth Network	Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 More Policies for Implementation, 2003
Smart Growth Network	Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities, 2010
Surgeon General	Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes, 2009
Surgeon General	Call to Action on Walking and Walkable Communities, 2015
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation	Greenways 101: General Advice for the Development of a Hard-Surfaced Greenway Project, 2014
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation	Tennessee Trails & Tracks Resource Guide, 2013
Tennessee Department of Health	Tennessee Statewide Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan, 2010
Tennessee Regions’ Roundtable Network	Navigating Our Future: Best Practice Case Studies, 2013
Transportation for America	Case Study: Nashville, TN - Prioritizing public health benefits through better project evaluation, 2016
University City District	The Case for Parklets: Measuring the Impact of Sidewalk Vitality and Neighborhood Businesses, 2014
University of Illinois at Chicago	Prioritizing Transportation Equity through Complete Streets, 2016
White House	President’s State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, 2014