Tools for Implementing Healthy Cities Initiatives Lessons from - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Tools for Implementing Healthy Cities Initiatives – Lessons from Hernando

South Carolina Obesity Prevention Summit - 2010

Chip Johnson, Mayor of Hernando, MS



Has become a spokesperson for what local governments can do to improve the health of residents.

 Helped Michelle Obama

kick off her Let’s Move campaign at the White House earlier this year.

 Has spoken to many state

Obesity conferences including Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas.

 Spoke at the IOM/UK

Department of Health conference in Washington.

Introduction

“I am the mayor of a city in the fattest state in the nation, in a nation that is the fattest in the world. We are in the business of protecting the health, safety and general welfare of the community (think water, sewer, fire protection and law enforcement), so why shouldn’t we do what is necessary to prevent illness and premature death. And since most problems are more effectively solved at the local level, it is incumbent upon communities to create the right environment for Improving the health of its citizens.”

What constitutes a Healthy Community?

 Clean air, including

freedom from second hand smoke in public places

 Clean water  A sustainable

ecosystem

 Ability to exercise –

good access to walking and biking for recreation and transportation, and easily accessible parks

 Personal safety  Inspiring civic spaces  Secure income  Education/Life long

learning

 Good social support  Positive health status  Good access to fresh,

unpackaged foods

 Available medical

services

What you should have in your toolbox

 Good partnerships.  Effective city policies

& ordinances.

 Passion for helping

citizens be healthier!

 An effective team.

Good Partnerships



Community Foundation for Northwest Mississippi – goal of healthy citizens/grant writers



Local school district – shared use of recreation facilities.



Scouts and youth groups – Girl Scouts in Hernando conducted a sidewalk inventory.



Grant making agencies- RWJ, others



County or regional trails/greenways group



Land Trust



Other health-oriented organizations – health department, healthy congregations initiatives, regional health councils, Safe Kids DeSoto County; “Get a Life”, etc.



Local, state and national bicycle and walking advocates.



Local businesses

Effective City Policies and Ordinances

 Exactions from land

developers for open space.

 Requirement for sidewalks

in ALL developments, residential, commercial, industrial and institutional (new and renovations)

 Land Conservation

Ordinances help protect beneficial tree canopy. This mitigates erosion/sedimentation = clean water and air.

 Clean Indoor Air Ordinance  City-improved sidewalks

Effective City Policies and Ordinances

 Playful Cities

designation two years in a row – only city in Mississippi to gain this recognition

 Making good use of

grants.

 Permit narrower streets;

bring buildings closer to the street for a safer and more attractive walking environment

Passion for Helping Citizens be Healthier

 Don’t force; reduce

barriers to healthy lifestyles and encourage!

 Focus on the future

– children.

 Don’t stop talking

about it.

 Use every avenue

available.

An effective team

 All city departments

should be working toward the same goal

 Parks and

Recreation

 Law Enforcement  Planning  Engineering

Why having a good built environment is so important

 What it means:  “The physical structures and infrastructure of

communities” (Prevention Institute, 2004)

 Purpose  Creating trails, walkways, playgrounds, parks and

roadways which:

 Encourage walking and biking  Calm traffic speeds  Make communities more accessible  Lessen the need for automotive transportation

What we did to help change the built environment

 Adding/Repairing sidewalks  Adding bike lanes  Requiring sidewalks in all new and renovated

developments

 Creating Crosswalks  Allowing narrower streets  Added/cleaned up new green spaces and parks  Developed Design Standards that help improve the

aesthetics of the community – making walking a biking a much more pleasant activity

 Studying adoption of a “complete streets” policy

Promote Exercise

 “If you build it, they will come.” Field of

Dreams

 Positive factors associated with

walking:

 Aesthetic attributes  Convenience (Sidewalks, trails)  Accessibility (Proximity to

destination)

 Perceptions about traffic and

busy roads

Pedestrian Injury

 What factors contribute to high rates of

pedestrian injury?

 Lack of Crosswalks

 The most dangerous areas for walkers are

newer, sprawling, southern and western communities where automobile transportation systems are the primary focus.

Surface Transportation Policy Project, 2000

Pedestrian Injury

 What factors contribute to high rates of

pedestrian injury?

 Traffic Volume

 The risk for pedestrian injury

increases with traffic volume

 Children living in high

volume neighborhoods are 13 times more likely to be injured

Roberts et al., 1995

Hernando Healthy Community Initiatives



Safe Routes to School project



Repair of crumbling sidewalks/accessible to the handicapped



Helped develop the Hernando Farmers Market



Passage of Clean Indoor Air Ordinance



Striped bike lanes

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Participate in DeSoto Greenways Project and the North Mississippi Land Trust



Participate in the Ozone Action Committee



Complete Streets Policy



Mandatory helmet use for youth

Hernando Healthy Community Initiatives

 Adding parklands

and recreational programs

 Initiated a

Community Garden

 Requires sidewalks

and open space in new and renovated developments

 Subscribes to Smart

Growth principles