The Pima County Health Department, in partnership with the City of Tucson, Arizona, conducted a rapid HIA of proposed infrastructure improvements to South 12th Avenue in Tucson. The proposed improvements included bus shelters, sidewalks, lighting, and green space. Using data analyses already conducted by the University of Arizona, the HIA examined potential health impacts associated with safety, economic effects, and physical activity.
The HIA made recommendations to maximize health benefits, including adopting Complete Streets design standards to ensure that all users can safely use the road. In addition to increasing the number of bus stops in the proposal, the HIA recommended that the stops include shelters to reduce the risk of heat-related illness among transit users.
Funding for this HIA was provided by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Outcome
The South 12th Avenue Project was approved by the Tucson Bond Advisory Committee on Jan. 9, 2015. The Pima County Health Department is conducting a comprehensive HIA on the corridor to inform implementation of the project.
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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.
