The Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) is conducting an HIA to examine the health effects of the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI) planning project for key intersections of the four mile stretch of Euclid Avenue in Euclid, Ohio. At this time, the plan intends to produce specific recommendations for 1) pedestrian and bicycle friendly transportation improvements to increase safe opportunities to be active, 2) redevelopment scenarios and design guidelines for public and private improvements that promote mixed-use development, and 3) policy recommendations for creating healthy places and linkages for active living opportunities. The Euclid TLCI plan was selected for an HIA because of the strong partnerships in the city, for elevating health and equity in the city’s land use planning and decision making processes, as well as for engaging community members in designing healthier communities. The goal of the Euclid HIA is to ensure that both health and equity considerations are integrated into the final Euclid Avenue TLCI plan, which is projected to be completed by Spring of 2013. It is expected that the HIA will result in recommendations to enhance healthy food access and for health promoting uses for vacant properties in the Corridor in turn, informing the plan to more fully address the design guidelines. Partners for the Euclid HIA include the City of Euclid, Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency (NOACA), as well as local residents and city officials. It is intended that land use decision making processes in the city, as well as TLCI planning processes county-wide, shift from an economic focus to one that supports creating healthy places for all citizens to live, learn, work and play.
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This Health Impact Assessment Report first appeared in The Cross-Sector Toolkit for Health. The Cross-Sector Toolkit for Health was originally developed by the Health Impact Project, formerly a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The creation of this resource was supported by a grant from the Health Impact Project. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pew Charitable Trusts, or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
