Public Health Reports · 2013 · 27 citations · 9 references
Public HealthCommunity HealthHealth PolicyHealth EquityPublic Health PolicySocial Determinants Of HealthCommunity Health PolicyCommunity Health PromotionEquity In PlacemakingEthnicity In HealthNeighborhood Health InequalitiesPlace-based PolicyAccess To Clean WaterCommunity DisinvestmentHealth Inequalities By PlaceHealth Outcomes By EthnicityLocal Institutional ChangePlace-based Health DisparitiesPlace-based Health InequalitiesPlace-based Health Inequities
In Alameda County, California, significant health inequities by race/ethnicity, income, and place persist. Many of the county's low-income residents and residents of color live in communities that have faced historical and current disinvestment through public policies. This disinvestment affects community conditions such as access to economic opportunities, well-maintained and affordable housing, high-quality schools, healthy food, safe parks, and clean water and air. These community conditions greatly affect health. At the invitation of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies' national Place Matters initiative, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson's Office and the Alameda County Public Health Department launched Alameda County Place Matters, an initiative that addresses community conditions through local policy change. We describe the initiative's creation, activities, policy successes, and best practices.
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