Improving community environments requires a comprehensive approach that creates bridges across sectors. Over a period of roughly two years, stakeholders in the western unincorporated area of Alameda County (also called "The Eden Area") came together to identify, discuss, and debate the most important issues facing their communities and to develop a collective vision of livable communities and a prioritized set of actions.
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On the rural Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho, the incidence of obesity, diabetes, and other food-related illnesses are exceptionally high. Disconnected from the traditions of their native ancestors, members of this community are often left with unhealthy food choices, such as processed foods, deli foods, fast food, or microwaveable options. To tackle this issue, the Youth Activity Director, an active member in the art community, and Laura Laumatia collaborated with one another to create the One Sky/One Earth Food Coalition, with the simple goal of "making it easier for individuals to make good food choices."
Thanks to Communities Putting Prevention to Work funding, the Cincinnati Public School system has already implemented new guidelines for foods and beverages sold in school vending machines, a la carte lines and school stores, ensuring that they meet nutrition standards that place limits on calories, certain nutrients and portion size. That's 34,000 children eating healthier, in one city alone.
With an alarming amount of vacant lots present within their city, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), along with other community and municipal partners, have developed a program to clean, green, and maintain these vacant lots in order to improve their community and health. In order to provide evidence that improvement of these vacant lots has positive effects on the community and health, PHS began a 10-year long longitudinal study comparing vacant lots against treated lots.
A diverse group of partners in South Los Angeles recently broke ground on a new Wellness Center and healing garden to serve Los Angeles Unified School District students and the surrounding community.
Slavic Village Development (SVD) is a community development corporation located in Cleveland, Ohio that works with the Broadway neighborhood. With a population consisting of mostly working class, middle to lower income families, Slavic Village Development was faced with the challenge of improving a community that undergoing increasing foreclosures and perceptions of a lack of safety. In 2003, SVD received a grant from the Active Living by Design program to begin an initiative to rebrand Broadway as "a community on the move."
This community-driven project engaged a variety of age groups in revitalizing Hunting Park to prevent violence and promote healthy food access through a new community garden and farmers market.
The Communities United for Health coalition formed to create a "healthy zone" in the Shawnee neighborhood by limiting alcohol and tobacco promotional signage, increase adequate lighting, and decrease graffiti to positively influence perceptions of safety.
This project developed a healthy local food system that addressed underlying inequities that contributed to violence in the underserved Westwood community of Denver.
