Local officials can provide leadership in many ways to create healthy neighborhoods.

This guide:

• Identifies the reasons to be concerned about the relationship between health and the built environment.
• Offers options for transforming that concern into a vision for a healthier community.
• Provides strategies and examples of how to translate that vision into action.

Healthy neighborhoods offer bikeable, walkable or transit-oriented transportation systems that are safe, provide appropriate travel options, are easily accessed, and are feasible for all populations and all trips.

Local leaders can provide opportunities for physical activity in daily life by designing transportation systems to accommodate and encourage walking and bicycling for travel to work, school and other daily destinations.

Residents’ perception of safety impacts their health and well-being by influencing their level of engagement in physical and social activities.  Residents who don’t feel safe in their communities are less likely to be involved, increasing their risk of isolation, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. 

Local agencies can help by supporting neighborhood design features that reduce the risk of injuries and support crime prevention.  For example, better-lit areas decrease the likelihood of theft and violence and increase the feeling of safety and security. If designed appropriately, increasing neighborhood density provides more people supervising public space.  Local agencies can also enforce local codes to clean up vacant lots, contaminated or polluted sites and reduce graffiti. 

Where people live, the quality of their housing, the places in and around the home where children play, and the type of land homes are built on can have profound and lasting impacts on health. 

Housing options that serve the needs of all of your residents help create neighborhoods that are vibrant, promote social cohesion and encourage bicycling and walking for recreation and transportation.