Small, Rural,
and Vibrant
E4 // Friday October 21 // 9am
Creating Healthy Communities in
New England and Beyond
Credit: Deroches
Photography
Today’s Presenters
Shawna Kitzman, AICP
Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.
Hartford, CT
Carol Gould, AICP
Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.
Hartford, CT
Liza Makuch
Eastern Highlands Health District
Plan4Health Program Coordinator
UConn PhD Candidate
Linda Painter, AICP
Town of Mansfield, CT
Director of Planning & Development
Eastern Health Highlands District
CHART Member
Relationship
Between Planning
& Public Health
Credit: John Murphy III
• Focus Areas:
• Increased opportunities for physical activity
• Access to nutritious food
• 38 coalitions received funding over a
2-year period
• Information on projects and related
resources available at www.plan4health.us
Credit: FHI
Eastern Highlands Initiative
• Community Health Action
Response Team (CHART)
coalition established in 2008
• Mission: Identify and
implement policy, systems
and environmental changes
Open Sewer-Wilton Street,
Silvertown UK
(www.portcities.org.uk)
Relationship
between Planning
and Public Health
Ensley, Alabama circa 1906
Tennessee Coal, Iron and
Railroad Co. furnaces
www.shorpy.com
Relationship
between Planning
and Public Health
Euclid v. Ambler Realty
Historical Marker
www.hgrinc.com
Relationship
between Planning
and Public Health
Margaret Bourke-White, Aerial
view of suburban housing
development outside of
Philadelphia, October 1957,
photograph, Time Inc.
Relationship
between Planning
and Public Health
www.bettercities.net
Relationship
between Planning
and Public Health
Small and Rural
Communities
Community Audit
Credit: John Murphy III
Components of Community Wellness
Access to
physical
activity
Credit: Shawna Kitzman
Access to
healthy
foods
Credit: Heather Brandon
Opportunities
to have fun*
*unofficial goal Credit: Zipporah Lomax
Small Town Barriers
• Car generally easiest mode of travel – limits physical activity and increases
isolation
• Walking and bicycling often occur in road shoulders
• Safety becomes a concern
• Lack of food stores with healthy options, limiting choices for resident
The Quick Audit: The
Final Piece to the Puzzle
• Developed to aid in the
implementation of the workshops
• Uploaded onto the website to be used
as part of the toolkit process
1. Complete Quick Audit
2. Use grade to identify most
significant areas of need
3. Go to corresponding toolkit
section to find ideas, tips,
resources
Credit: Liza Makuch
Activity
• Complete the Audit! (no more than 10 minutes)
• Small group share
Credit (l to r): FHI, EHHD, Steven Sokoloski
Scoring the Quick Audit
• Each answer has an associated point value
• Tally up your points in each category
• Tally up your points in the two sections
• Add up total points for the entire Audit
• Now it’s time to do math!
Credit: Patrick Dugan
Interpreting Your Score
• Determine in which areas you need improvement
• Determine on which areas your community can and should focus
• The ART of setting goals:
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely
Online Toolkit
Credit: EHHD
How the Toolkit Came to Be
• Web-based toolkit decided upon at
project start
• Not a printed doc!
• 18 month timeline
• Nimble, easy to update over time
• Responsive to commissions that change
• Mindful of small town resources
• Support EHHD region towns small, rural
communities anywhere
Credit: Riverfront Recapture
Toolkit Goals
• Ease of navigation and use
• Curated rural resources
• Local photography
• Clean design
• Straightforward language
• Limited jargon
• Definitions provided
• Glossary of terms
• Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper (LQC)
strategies
Credit: Adam Fagen
Building the Toolkit
• Dynamic ‘living’ resource built in Squarespace
• EHHD can update/add links
• Search function
• Companion Quick Guide
www.healthyeasternct.com
Resources: Physical Activity
• Tools to Assess Need
• Walkability
• Bikeability
• Connectivity
• Placemaking
• Wayfinding
• Playability
Resources: Healthy Foods
• Agriculture Large & Small
• Food Markets
• Access to Food Options
Credit: Heather Brandon
Sources
• In order of preference - sources from
• Small town/rural Connecticut
• Small town/rural New England
• Small town/rural places throughout U.S.
• National programs
Credit: EHHD
Relationship Between Audit & Toolkit
• Resources for small towns
• Funding mechanisms
• Partnership opportunities
• Local resources & contacts
• HUD
• EPA
• USDA
• State Departments
Questions?
Credit: Howard Latimer
Thank you!
Credit: John Murphy III
Panel Contact
Shawna Kitzman, AICP
skitzman@fhiplan.com
Carol Gould, AICP
cgould@fhiplan.com
Liza Makuch
makuchab@ehhd.org
Linda Painter, AICP
PainterLM@mansfieldct.org

Small rural vibrant 101016

Editor's Notes

  • #6 -APA, Plan4Health, APHA Logos Presentation Notes: While the program focuses on institutionalizing relationships and improving capacity of planners and public health professionals to tackle these issues, the real goal is reducing the incidence of chronic disease.
  • #7 In 2015, in partnership with the CCAPA, EHHD was awarded Plan4Health grant by the APA and APHA Plan4Health grant funded the creation of a toolkit to help Planning and Zoning Commissions in small communities understand: How their actions can impact long-term public health Provide resources to help build capacity in linking planning policy to public health outcomes
  • #9 -Talk about long history of planning/public health relationships -Public health impacts of development patterns pre-zoning; public health impacts of development patterns post zoning/use separation/mid-century suburban model -Larger framework-how can planning policies positively impact public health - If you are worried about filling time, do you want to add the video (The Saga Sister Public Health and Brother Planning?)  Can we download it from youtube so we don’t have to worry about the internet/wifi connection?
  • #10 Feel free to rearrange-just wanted to get photos and credits -Talk about long history of planning/public health relationships -Public health impacts of development patterns pre-zoning; public health impacts of development patterns post zoning/use separation/mid-century suburban model -How do we interact today? For many rural communities, relationships between planning and public health focus on protecting potable water supplies (wells) and preventing exposure to wastewater (septic systems) -Larger framework-how can planning policies positively impact public health - If you are worried about filling time, do you want to add the video (The Saga Sister Public Health and Brother Planning?) Can we download it from youtube so we don’t have to worry about the internet/wifi connection?
  • #11 Feel free to rearrange-just wanted to get photos and credits -Talk about long history of planning/public health relationships -Public health impacts of development patterns pre-zoning; public health impacts of development patterns post zoning/use separation/mid-century suburban model -How do we interact today? For many rural communities, relationships between planning and public health focus on protecting potable water supplies (wells) and preventing exposure to wastewater (septic systems) -Larger framework-how can planning policies positively impact public health - If you are worried about filling time, do you want to add the video (The Saga Sister Public Health and Brother Planning?) Can we download it from youtube so we don’t have to worry about the internet/wifi connection?
  • #12 Feel free to rearrange-just wanted to get photos and credits -Talk about long history of planning/public health relationships -Public health impacts of development patterns pre-zoning; public health impacts of development patterns post zoning/use separation/mid-century suburban model -How do we interact today? For many rural communities, relationships between planning and public health focus on protecting potable water supplies (wells) and preventing exposure to wastewater (septic systems) -Larger framework-how can planning policies positively impact public health - If you are worried about filling time, do you want to add the video (The Saga Sister Public Health and Brother Planning?) Can we download it from youtube so we don’t have to worry about the internet/wifi connection?
  • #13 The new American Dream – 1950s (Levittown, PA)
  • #14 What's old is new again - 1990s saw a return to traditional design. As planners, we have tended to focus on the positive design impacts of traditional neighborhood design, but these types of land use patterns also support and encourage more active lifestyles
  • #15 How does this apply to small and rural communities?  While small towns are not as dense as cities, most developed in similar patterns, clusters of housing and industry, either farming or manufacturing
  • #18 Think outside the box.  While sidewalks may not be desired or appropriate in all areas, small towns and rural communities offer other opportunities. -trails, blueways (canoing, kayaking), large open space areas.  We also have the easiest access to local foods.  Policies and regulations that support local agriculture, encourage connectivity of open space, trail linkages, etc. all contribute to the greater health of the community. 
  • #19 Land use regulations can also encourage or require more clustered development to both preserve open space and create a sense of place/neighborhood feeling.