US - Creating Healthy Built Environments: Case Studies of Local Public Health Departments in California

What strategies are local health departments using to promote healthy built environments? How are they forging successful working relationships with cities, planners, and transportation agencies? What new roles are they taking on and how are they building internal and external support for these roles?

To shed light on these questions, the California Center for Physical Activity (within the Safe and Active Communities Branch, California Department of Public Health) and Safe & Healthy Communities Consulting are pleased to announce the release of Creating Healthy Built Environments: Case Studies of Local Public Health Departments in California featuring the efforts and lessons learned of three local health departments working in urban, rural, and suburban areas of the state: Contra Costa County, Shasta County, and Los Angeles County. These new case studies showcase extraordinary public health and built environment work across three distinct rural, suburban, and urban counties in California. They include project examples, challenges and outcomes, next steps, capacity-building and contact information.

LA County Case Study [PDF] http://www.caphysicalactivity.org/docs/la_casestudy.pdf

Shasta County Case Study [PDF] http://www.caphysicalactivity.org/docs/sc_casestudy.pdf

Contra Costa Case Study [PDF] http://www.caphysicalactivity.org/docs/cc_casestudy.pdf

These case studies are one of several tools and resources available through the California Center for Physical Activity’s Local Public Health and Built Environment (LPHBE) Network. The LPHBE Network was the first statewide effort in California to provide training, technical assistance, and grants to local public health departments interested in building capacity for promoting safe and active community environments. Funding for the case studies was provided by the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Safe & Healthy Communities Consulting helps communities, local governments, and the public health sector plan and build capacity for creating safe, healthy, and equitable built environments.