Human Impact Partners’ work has led to:
- Changes in proposed land use and transportation projects to improve development
- As a result of our Jack London Gateway HIA in Oakland, California, the developer installed a central ventilation system with air filters inside housing units, and modified residential building design to orient entryways through a noise-buffered courtyard rather than near a freeway.
- The inclusion of comprehensive health analyses in decision-making processes that would have otherwise not included such analyses
- General Plan Updates are not typically accompanied by health impact analyses. However, our Humboldt County HIA illustrated that focused growth – new development in areas already served by existing infrastructure such as public sewage and utilities – would result in fewer miles driven and traffic injuries and increased walking and biking. County decision-makers have used the information to push for health-related policies such as limiting sprawl and increasing affordable housing.
- Changes in how policies are framed and debated to improve individual and public health
- After the release of our paid sick days HIA, data and findings were considered in legislative hearings at the federal level and in several states. As a result of the HIA, discussions about paid sick days legislation have shifted to a public health frame and have taken into account the larger health effects these decisions will have in communities.
- An increase in the awareness of health impacts and HIA among decision-makers and the public
- After conducting a HIA training for stakeholders regarding the expansion of the I-710 freeway in Southern California and presenting a HIA scope and preliminary findings to CalTrans and other decision-makers, the decision-making body for the expansion project voted to conduct a HIA as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment.
- An increase in coverage of health impacts of decisions in the news
- As a result of our HIA on paid sick days legislation, there were over 30 television, radio, and print news stories in four states that discussed the health impacts of the proposed policy. The HIA helped develop a dialogue around paid sick days as an important health issue.
- New collaborations between community organizations, public agencies, and other stakeholders to make sure health is considered in land use decisions
- As a result of a HIA collaboration between Human Impact Partners, ACORN, Urban Housing Communities (a housing developer), and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health that targeted redevelopment issues in South Central Los Angeles, the developer agreed to reduce the cost of housing in the future phases of the development.
- Increased participation in decision-making processes by community residents and empowerment of community organizations
- Through the Pittsburg Railroad Avenue HIA, Human Impact Partners and partners engaged communities by holding a focus group with community leaders to develop the HIA scope and working with residents to conduct a walkability survey of the area. Community members engaged in these ways used HIA findings in their testimony to city council about the project.
Please visit our Projects page for more information on each of the HIAs referenced above.
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