Policy innovations often begin at the local level—in cities and counties—and
local policy serves a pivotal role in preventing illness, injury, and health inequity
in the first place. Local policies can change environmental conditions that adversely
affect groups of people by stimulating new social norms and redistributing power,
resources, and opportunities across sectors. Policy change at the local level
can be a catalyst for broader transformation. Regional successes can create
pushback against broader state, national, and global forces that reproduce
inequities. Successful efforts snowball from locale to locale, serving as models
for other communities and for state and national initiatives. Thus, local policies
can not only create positive impacts on health within specific communities,
they also can inspire a movement elsewhere. To learn more about current local
policy efforts, visit the ENACT Local Policy Database.