A CALL TO ACTION
FOR HEALTHY, LIVABLE COMMUNITIES POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS The conditions highlighted in this report underscore the fact that regional, state and federal agencies have not effectively documented, monitored, or regulated all of the polluting facilities impacting specific neighborhoods, nor addressed their cumulative environmental impacts on residents. After years of working to improve the quality of life in overburdened communities, the Collaborative is convinced that these failures can no longer be ignored. Rigorous policies must be adopted to ameliorate the problem of cumulative environmental impacts at the municipal level of government. Municipal government, with its broad authority over land use across a jurisdiction, can play a significant and supportive role in safeguarding communities from over-concentration of industrial uses that pose a significant environmental hazard in an identified hot spot area. In fact, local planning, land use and effective permitting and enforcement policies provide the most promising avenues for cities and county governments to help overburdened communities deal with pervasive environmental problems.
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“Policy and institutional practices are the key levers for change. Consequently, we need to focus on these areas…in order to ‘unmake’ inequitable neighborhood conditions and improve health and safety outcomes.” – A Time of Opportunity: Local Solutions to Reduce Inequities in Health and Safety, Prevention Institute, May 2009
A recent policy brief issued by the California Health Policy Forum asserts that policy changes by local governments and interventions outside of the health care sector can play a more powerful role than health services in improving health outcomes for people living in low-income communities of color, thereby reducing health inequities and resulting health disparities.22 The report also calls upon decision-makers at the community, state and national levels to implement policy solutions that address the root causes of health inequities, including improvements to air, water and soil quality.
Iton, T. [et al]. “Targeting Root Causes to Address Inequities and Improve Health: Implications for Health Reform.” California Health Policy Forum Policy Brief. Sacramento, CA: Center for Health Improvement, July 2009.
