Humboldt County General Plan Update Health Impact Assessment: A Case Study

Abstract

As a tool for deliberately planning for and optimizing the ways in which we design our environments, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) holds promise for achieving environmental justice and health equity. This case study describes the application of HIA to updating a rural county's General Plan. Humboldt County, California is currently considering three development plans to accommodate future population growth, and the described HIA process successfully identified and analyzed potential health outcomes associated with each. Although the General Plan Update process is not yet complete as of this writing, the HIA has already accomplished one of its initial goals, which was to build awareness of health impacts related to planning decisions among county agencies, project decision-makers, participating community members, and the general public. Another noteworthy outcome of this process, which is intended to aid in planning future equitable and just communities, was the development of the ''Rural Healthy Development Measurement Tool,'' a tool for considering health in rural development decisions.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning in Rural Communities

“…Processes such as health impact assessment 19 can facilitate consideration of differential access to health-promoting resources that may result from regional transportation decisions. Processes such as health impact assessment 19 can facilitate consideration of differential access to health-promoting resources that may result from regional transportation decisions.…”

Reducing health inequalities: the use of Health Impact Assessment on Rural Areas

“…Humboldt County (California) is currently considering three development plans to accommodate future population growth, and the described HIA process successfully identified and analysed potential health impacts associated with each (Harris et al, 2009). Likewise, as a result of this process, "Rural Healthy Development Measurement Tool" has been developed so as to take the matter of health into account when making decisions regarding rural development, thus helping to plan more equal, fairer and healthier communities.…”

Using health impact assessment in community development to improve air quality and public health

“…Having representatives from affected communities work with public health, planning and transportation agencies, advocacy organizations, regulatory agencies, academics, elected officials, and others can increase the availability and relevance of data and analysis used in HIA, and increase the effectiveness of findings and recommendations in informing decisions. Collaboration in HIA also increases awareness of broader community concerns, and helps secure responsive action from decision-makers (CHIA, 2010; Harris et al, 2009;Mathias & Harris-Roxas, 2009). The North American HIA Practice Standards Working Group defines the following steps of HIA (NAHIAPSWG, 2009):…”