Public Health
Mapping U.S. Road Fatalities from 2003-2014
An intrepid mapmaker and data cruncher has created a map that illustrates the ubiquity of fatalities on U.S. roads and highways.
So the Chief Doc Says 'Take a Walk'
Though the role for planners in making it easier to walk was clear even before the U.S. Surgeon General urged communities to design and plan for walking, more information is needed to understand why and where people choose to travel on foot.
How Planners Are Helping Build Healthy Food Infrastructure in Boise
The Idaho Plan4Health Coalition is exemplifying the role of planning in improving public health outcomes connected to healthy food and nutrition.
Take Care of Trees (They Take Care of You)
New research suggests that trees offer a "layer of protection" for cardiovascular disease.
Deadly Diesel Emissions Plummeting in California
Amidst the bad publicity coming from Volkswagen's engineered fraud on diesel emissions testing comes good news from California Air Resources Board: The cancer risk from airborne toxins, most of which come from burning diesel fuel, dropped 76 percent.
Traffic Safety Sea Change Underway in Texas
Streetsblog surveys the Texas cities adopting new standards of traffic safety as official policy.
Census Reveals the States Where the Affordable Care Act Has Insured the Most Residents
If the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to reduce the percentage of Americans without health insurance, new Census data shows it's doing just that. Americans without health insurance fell by three percent last year, or 8.8 million people.
More on the U.S. Surgeon General's Historic Pro-Walking Stance
The idea that Americans should walk rather than drive: "a radical idea wrapped in a banal government document."
Deepening the Alliance Between the Planning and Public Health Professions
The Plan4Health program has provided an avenue for chapters of the American Public Health Association and the American Planning Association to fund and complete projects that improve the public health outcomes of the built environment.
Sprawl Connected to Traffic Fatalities in Louisville
A Louisville case study of the findings and recommendations of the World Resource Institute's "Cities Safer By Design" report.
Studies Find Spike in Bike-Related Injuries and Deaths
A pair of studies finds separate but related evidence that as more people are biking, more people are getting injured while biking. What to do about it is still under debate.
Surgeon General Warning to Local Governments: Stop Being So Auto-Centric!
No, those will not be the precise words of the forthcoming "Call to Action" by Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, but he will call on cities to "design and build roads and public places to make walking easier, safer, and more pleasant."
'Vision Zero' Requires More Data in Washington, D.C.
Advocates say traffic safety data collection practices in Washington, D.C. don't meet national standards. They also say it will be hard for the District to meet its vision zero goal by 2024 if the problem persists.
Guidance for Providing Safe Access to Parks
The American Planning Association has released new information on the role of planners in providing safe routes to parks.
CEQA Reform: The Public Health Community Is Cheering Too
An op-ed describing the public health benefits of CEQA reform and urging California's leaders to finalize the end of "Level of Service" as a measure of project impacts.
New Guide Helps City Leaders Design for Physical Activity and Health
The "Active Cities Report" by the Designed to Move coalition provides detailed guidance concerning how to integrate physical activity into community design, and information on the economic, social and environmental benefits that result.
Medical Marijuana Emerges from the Haze in Florida
A new medical marijuana industry has been on hold in Florida, but permit processing can now begin following a court decision this week that upheld newly-developed regulations.
Study: Bike Commuters Are Less Stressed
A new study finds that biking to work does wonders for reducing stress levels throughout the day. Too bad most it's so hard to fund biking infrastructure.
Planners Reboot Public Health Efforts in South Los Angeles
A law passed to combat obesity and diabetes in South Los Angeles by slowing the proliferation of fast food restaurants has done little to change the landscape of the area.
Report: E-Cigarette Use Triples Among Teens
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13% of high school age students used e-cigarettes in 2014, up from 4% in 2013. Regulation is being developed, but health effects and related tobacco usage implications are not clear.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
