urrent and anticipated climate trends have significant impacts on the health of people. Our built environment can exacerbate or lessen those impacts. The history of the fields of urban planning and public health started around the same time in the 1800s when communities began seeing the links between the built environment and infectious diseases (1). We understand now that community design, zoning, and land use have farther reaching effects on health than just infectious disease.
Climate, Health, & Your Community
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While our initial understanding of public health and urban planning arose out of the impacts of city living conditions, the same principles apply to less dense, rural areas. With human-made features come risks that need to be monitored and mitigated. That’s why it’s critical for all counties, cities, villages, and townships to consider health in decision-making.
So where should communities start if they want to improve environmental and public health outcomes through their policies, plans, and projects? The Michigan Green Communities Challenge lists action items to help you communities take action:
– Research and understand current and projected climate trends in Michigan
– Make equity a central consideration in community planning;
– Work with partners and neighboring communities to perform a health impact assessment;
– Apply a Health in All Policies approach to community planning, procedures, and policies;
– Develop a climate health and adaptation plan.
Continue reading for more on these actions and additional resources.
“Community design directly effects human health. Development patterns, zoning, and land use impact walkability and transportation options, access to services, the availability of healthy foods, and vulnerability to hazards.”
Adapting to current and projected climate trends
While mitigation is necessary for preventing the worst effects of climate change, significant improvements to community health can come in the form of adaptation strategies to adapt the built environment to current extreme weather events and climate patterns and projected ones.
Municipalities and counties have a unique role in adapting the built and natural environment to protect residents’ health from the effects of air pollution, extreme heat, flooding, water contamination, and diseases. The role of a municipality/county depends on whether it is urban, suburban, or rural. For example, rural municipalities and counties will have to tailor their policies and approaches to deal with drought while at the same time urbanized municipalities/counties will need to adopt policies and plans to address flooding. Neighboring communities that work together on climate and health adaptation planning and strategies can have a greater impact on the health, safety, and wellbeing of residents.
The Michigan Climate and Health Adaptation Program (MICHAP) is part of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. MICHAP supports a climate resilient public health system by investigating climate-driven health risks, identifying information for decision-making across sectors, and collaboratively implementing climate adaptation strategies. MICHAP focuses on:
respiratory diseases, which worsen with increased air pollution and extended pollen seasons;
heat illness, higher humidity in the Great Lakes region may result in more heat-related illness;
water-borne diseases, increases in precipitation and flooding “leaves areas vulnerable to sewage/septic failures and runoff at an increased risk for waterborne diseases and in certain areas, development of harmful algal blooms”;
vector-borne diseases, warmer winters and springs contribute to growth in mosquitoes and ticks, potentially increasing vector-borne diseases like Lyme and West Nile Virus;
injury and carbon monoxide poisoning, resulting from extreme weather events
(from the MI Climate Health Profile, 2015).
Making equity a key component of planning
Climate impacts the health of marginalized communities first and more severely (source). Racial inequity, economic disparities, historic and current environmental injustices, segregation, disinvestment in rural and marginalized communities, and more cause the impacts of climate change to be felt first and most severely by marginalized populations.
A simple question any community can ask to guide them toward a more equitable approach is: Who are we not hearing from in our community? Children, residents in elderhood, and those with limited economic means are just a few groups that may not have the luxury of time, transportation, or resources to be proactively engaged in community planning. How can you engage these groups and ensure that you’re considering all the impacts that your decision may have on them?
Health impact analyses & health in all policies
Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a collaborative approach that integrates and articulates health considerations into policymaking across sectors to improve the health of all communities and people. HiAP recognizes that health is created by a multitude of factors beyond healthcare and, in many cases, beyond the scope of traditional public health activities.
HIA is a process that helps evaluate the potential health effects of a plan, project, or policy before it is built or implemented. HIA brings potential positive and negative public health impacts and considerations to the decision-making process for plans, projects, and policies that fall outside traditional public health arenas, such as transportation and land use. A HIA provides practical recommendations to increase positive health effects and minimize negative health effects.
The major steps in conducting a health impact analysis include:
Screening (identifying plan, project, or policy decisions for which an HIA would be useful).
Scoping (planning the HIA and identifying what health risks and benefits to consider).
Assessment (identifying affected populations and quantifying health impacts of the decision).
Recommendations (suggesting practical actions to promote positive health effects and minimize negative health effects).
Reporting (presenting results to decision makers, affected communities, and other stakeholders).
Monitoring and evaluation (determining the HIA’s impact on the decision and health status).
Michigan Health Impact Assessment Examples
Ingham County Health Department, Lansing, MI
A Health Impact Assessment of Non-Motorized Improvements in East Lansing
City of Grand Rapids (Planning), Grand Rapids, MI
Michigan Street Corridor Plan: A Health Impact Assessment
City of Ann Arbor, MI
Climate Health and Adaptation Plan: Marquette Area Example
What they did: MICHAP and MSU Extension applied HIAP in their work in Marquette, Michigan, developing a Climate and Health Adaptation Planning Guide.
Guiding principles:
- keep health and equity at the forefront
- engage decision makers and representative community members,
- use locally relevant climate data and vulnerability assessments, and
- leverage visualization tools to establish a shared vision.
Result: Planners and policymakers in Marquette understood community concerns and priorities in how the region would adapt to climate change, and a shared vision of where the community.
View the work:
