Health Impact Assessment
By planning ahead and making decisions with health in mind about land use we can build a city that supports high quality of life for everyone. Nashville's built environment - such as our neighborhoods, public spaces and transportation system - is shaped by policies, and has a profound impact on health.
Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) is using Health Impact Assessments (HIA) to inform decision makers about the potential health consequences of proposed policies, plans and programs and augment current decision making processes.
HIA is a systematic way of addressing the public health implications of policies, plans, and programs that are developed without an explicit health focus.
By bringing health into the discussion during the formation of policies, plans, and projects we can help to ensure that they promote healthy living and at the very least do not have unintentional negative consequences for the public's health.
Currently, CPPW is conducting an HIA of Metro Transit Authority's EasyRide Program and an HIA of urban agriculture use and policy.
Data collected from the Easy Ride HIA will provide new information that may influence employer decisions to adopt or renew contracts with MTA to provide free or discounted transit passes to their employees. The HIA will highlight health benefits of using transit for daily commuting in Davidson County, such as increased physical activity, improved air quality, and reduced risk for injuries from crashes.
The HIA of urban agriculture in Nashville will examine how Metro properties within the urban core can be repurposed to improve access to healthy foods. Results of this HIA will demonstrate the connections between urban land use patterns and food systems and may inform future changes to land use policy within the city.
Download the flyer: Top 5 Reasons Transit is Part of a Healthy, Active and Green City.
Download the PowerPoint presentation from the HIA Transit Forum.
Enjoy some helpul videos about riding public transit by Transit Now.
