Participation, Information, Values, and Community Interests Within Health Impact Assessments

Health impact assessment (HIA) has emerged in the U.S. as one promising process to increase social and environmental justice through addressing health equity issues within planning. HIA practice is guided by values such as democracy and equity and grounded in broad social determinants of health. The most readily applied definition of democracy is problematic because it implies an element of direct, participatory engagement with the public. This is at odds with HIA practice that largely relies on stakeholder engagement strategies. This dissertation critically examines the engagement strategies of three transportation planning HIA cases to more fully understand how the HIA process may or may not promote democratic values and protect community health interests. It employs a multi-case study design that uses qualitative content analysis to trace community health interests through the HIA process, HIA document, and target plan. It finds that while the field is overstating the participatory nature of HIA, commitments to health equity and broad determinants of health protect community health interests with and without robust engagement of community stakeholders

Social Learning through Stakeholder Engagement: New Pathways from Parcipitation to Health Equity in U.S. West Coast HIA

While some contend that extensive public engagement activities are necessary to meet Health Impact Assessment (HIA) practice standards, other work suggests that an HIA of any type hasthe potential to inform decision-making in ways that embody HIA’s value of democracy (Cole & Fielding, 2007; Harris-Roxas et al., 2012; Negev, 2012). These divergent perspectives on how to realize democracy through public participation represents an area of evolving debate in the ongoing development of HIA practice in the US. Looking to the relatively diverse HIA practice on the west coast of the US, we explore the interplay between engagement strategies and HIA values in completed HIAs. We locate each HIA on Harris-Roxas’s (2011) typology of HIAs – mandated, decision-support, advocacy, and community-led – and assess the type(s) and extent of participation activities conducted. This sample incorporates a variety of both HIA types, target policy/program decisions in different sectors, and HIAs conducted by seasoned and novice practitioners

Understanding Connections Between Mobility, Transportation, and Quality of Life in Refugee Communities in Tucson, Arizona

In this multidisciplinary research project we aimed to study mobility challenges that refugees in Tucson, AZ, experience after their resettlement. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected from interviews and survey data, we argue that mobility shapes the ways refugees foster social connections, attain employment and access educational opportunities. Accordingly, barriers to mobility negatively impact refugees’ perception of well-being in post resettlement. However, these challenges are not experienced evenly. Nor are refugees passive subjects who lack agency in overcoming various barriers they experience. The study reveals the resilience of the refugee community in navigating the intersectional challenges they confront related to their mobility. We hope that the implications of this study can inform various stakeholders to better support refugees in navigating existing mobility and transportation challenges and to promote policy change that can increase better spatial mobility for all Tucson community members

Poultry and the Press: Urban Chickens and the National Stage

After a 2010 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) conference bus erupted into chatter from a tour guide’s passing comment about a new ordinance allowing chickens into Minneapolis backyards, I wondered about the magnitude of the urban chicken movement. Legalizing urban chickens is, in fact, occurring more often. A Lexus-Nexus Power Search of the term ‘chicken ordinance’ does not even register a hit in 2000. Yet in 2010, 141 articles discussed potential changes to urban chicken ordinances. Such an explosion of national news coverage suggests urban chicken keeping reaches beyond Portland’s borders. What is driving this interest in urban chicken keeping? What is the media reporting as arguments for and against chickens in the urban context? With the help of my students, I reviewed over 200 newspaper articles from 2009 and 2010 to better understand the public discourse surrounding urban chicken ordinances

Foreclosure Activity in the Portland-Vancouver MSA

Foreclosure activity is an important indicator of community and neighborhood health and the economic viability of households. In the Portland region, foreclosure activity is comparable to many areas of the United States, with significant segments of the population struggling to make their mortgage payments. The foreclosure crisis continues to unfold in the United States. In 2009, RealtyTrac reported 3.9 million foreclosure filings on 2.8 million properties in the U.S., up 21 percent from the previous year. Foreclosure filings include default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank reversions. About two percent of all U.S. housing units received at least one foreclosure notice in 2009. California, Florida, Arizona and Illinois accounted for more than 50 percent of the 2009 foreclosure filings. In 2009, Oregon had the 11th highest rate of foreclosures, with one foreclosure filing for every 47 housing units. Between 2008 and 2009, Oregon filings increased 89 percent. Compared with 2007, foreclosure filings in 2009 increased by 303 percent. While still high, monthly counts of pre-foreclosure notices in the Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) have been steadily declining since late 2008. However, according to RealtyTrac data, counts of bank reversions in the Portland MSA continue to climb and reached near peak levels in October 2009 as default grace periods elapsed. This briefing sheet is designed to stimulate discussion and invite feedback regarding the usefulness of the information for understanding the extent of the foreclosure problem, identifying neighborhoods at risk of widespread problems due to foreclosures, understanding neighborhood change, and targeting intervention

How Affordable is Housing in Transit-Oriented Developments?

Transportation and land use planning, as a field, is shifting away from segregated uses connected by highways and streets to more compact, mixed-use developments connected by high-quality transit. This new paradigm has brought special attention to transit-oriented developments (TOD), which are sometimes touted as being among the most affordable, efficient places to live. But how affordable are they, and who has the power to effect change? Is Transit-Oriented Development Affordable for Low and Moderate Income Households?, a study funded by the National Institute of Transportation and Communities (NITC), examines housing costs for households living in TODs. Led by Reid Ewing of the University of Utah with co-investigators Nicole Iroz-Elardo and Arlie Adkins of the University of Arizona, the team examined the housing affordability of TODs in U.S. cities across 23 regions. The analysis of housing costs revealed a lot of variability across different regions. Of all the examined housing developments, only 16 projects/developments out of 117 across 85 TOD sites were deemed 100% “affordable” – meaning that all the units in those 16 developments were affordable to households earning up to 80% of the average median income for that county

Pathways from built environment to health: a conceptual framework linking behavior and exposure-based impacts

Background and purpose A growing body of evidence documents multiple ways in which land use and transportation investments influence health. To date, most evidence linking the built environment to health either focuses on behavioral change or environmental exposures. Few studies simultaneously assess how behavior and exposure-based impacts of the built environment interact. This is concerning as increased walkability and transit access can possibly lead to increased exposure to air pollution and injury risk. Method This paper synthesizes recent research on behavior and exposure-based mechanisms that connect land use and transportation investments with various health outcomes. Exploring the nexus between these pathways provides a framework to identify priority areas for research to inform policies and investments. Results The most studied pathway articulates how land use and transportation can support healthy behaviors, such as increased physical activity, healthy diet, and social interactions. The second pathway articulates exposure to harmful substances and stressors and potential differential impacts by travel modes. Increased rates of active travel lead to lower generation of vehicle emissions and kilometers traveled; but may actually result in increased exposure which may have adverse effects on sensitive populations such as elderly and youth. Unhealthy exposures have historically concentrated in areas where the most disadvantaged reside – along major transportation corridors where land is cheapest and more affordable housing is located. Implications A high priority for future research is to examine mechanisms that spatially link built environment and chronic disease. More longitudinal evidence is required inclusive of biomarker data within clinical trials to isolate independent and interactive effects of biological and neurological mechanisms from behavioral and exposure related impacts of the environment. Downstream impacts of the built environment on healthcare utilization and costs and workforce productivity is needed for policy makers to justify the major investments required to plan or retrofit communities.</p

Webinar: Scooting to Healthy and Safe Mode Choices

Shared electric scooters (e-scooters) are fast becoming a mobility option in cities across the United States. This new micromobility mode has the potential to replace car usage for certain trips, which stands to have a positive impact on public health and sustainability goals. However, many aspects of this emerging mode are not well understood.This webinar explores the findings of three NITC studies examining transportation mode choices, safety, and public health outcomes of electric scooters.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_webinar/1070/thumbnail.jp

Linking Residential Parking to Automobile Transportation Impact Outcomes at a Development Level

Although there exists a well-studied relationship between parking policies and automobile demand, conventional practices evaluating the transportation impacts of new land development tend to ignore this. In this paper, we: (a) explore literature linking parking policies and vehicle use (including vehicle trip generation, vehicle miles traveled [VMT], and trip length) through the lens of development-level evaluations (e.g., transportation impact analyses [TIA]); (b) develop a conceptual map linking development-level parking characteristics and vehicle use outcomes based on previously supported theory and frameworks; and (c) evaluate and discuss the conventional approach to identify the steps needed to operationalize this link, specifically for residential development. Our findings indicate a significant and noteworthy dearth of studies incorporating parking constraints into travel behavior studies—including, but not limited to: parking supply, costs or pricing, and travel demand management strategies such as the impacts of (un)bundled parking in housing costs. Disregarding parking in TIAs ignores a significant indicator in automobile use. Further, unconstrained parking may encourage increases in car ownership, vehicle trips, and VMT in areas with robust alternative-mode networks and accessibility, thus creating greater demand for vehicle travel than would otherwise occur. The conceptual map offers a means for operationalizing the links between: the built environment; socio-economic and demographic characteristics; fixed and variable travel costs; and vehicle use. Implications for practice and future research are explored.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]