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Built Environment

    Designing and Building Healthy Places – information on health issues and CDC projects related to community design and the built environment

    Development of a Health Impact Assessment Protocol for Polk County, Florida [DOC 442 KB] – protocol for health impact assessments of construction projects and developments in Polk County. This is one in a series of reports prepared by a graduate of CDC’s Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute.

    Impact of the Built Environment on Health – CDC's activities to promote healthy community design

    Links to Information from outside CDC

    A Better Way of Living [external link] (Rollins School of Public Health) – two studies help shape Atlanta’s built environment and parks

    Next–Door Neighbors [external link] (Rollins School of Public Health) – CDC and Rollins School of Public Health collaborate to keep people healthy, including efforts to define and articulate issues related to the built environment

    Taming Urban Sprawl [external link] (Rollins School of Public Health) – the impact of sprawling development on public health

    Additional Federal and State Government Resources:

    American Institute of Architects (AIA) [external link] – organization dedicated to designing healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes

    American Planning Association (APA) [external link] – nonprofit public interest and research organization representing planners, officials, and citizens involved with urban and rural planning issues

    Center for Watershed Protection [external link] – The Center for Watershed Protection is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation that provides local governments, activists, and watershed organizations around the country with the technical tools for protecting some of the nation’s most precious natural resources: our streams, lakes, and rivers.

    Child Proofing Our Communities Campaign [external link] – National campaign geared to protect children from exposures to environmental health hazards in schools and other childcare settings. Coordinated by the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice (Falls Church, VA).

    Congress for the New Urbanism [external link] – The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) advocates the restructuring of public policy and development practices to support the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions. CNU sponsors annual meetings that bring together members of every development–related field so they can discuss ways to reconfigure sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, conserve natural environments, and preserve our built legacy.

    “Energy Smart Schools” Program (U.S. Department of Energy) [external link] – promotes environmentally sound and healthy school design

    Healthy Schools Network, Inc. [external link] – Healthy Schools Network, Inc. is a national not–for–profit organization centered on children's environmental health and dedicated to assuring every child and school employee an environmentally safe and healthy school through research, information and referral, advocacy, and coalition–building.

    Local Government Commission (LGC) [external link] – LGC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership community working to build livable communities. LGC provides a forum as well as technical assistance to enhance the ability of local governments to create and sustain healthy environments, healthy economies, and social equity.

    Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee [external link] – Two major efforts of the MBPAC are the development of the Safe Routes to Schools Pilot Program and advising MDOT on the development and implementation of the 20-year Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Master Plan.

    National Center for Bicycling & Walking (NCBW) [external link] – National Center for Bicycling & Walking (founded as the Bicycle Federation of America) has been working for more bicycle–friendly and walkable communities. This Web site is designed to support the activities and initiatives of people across the country working in their professional work and private lives to make America a better place to walk and to bicycle. Includes ordering information for the 48–page guide "Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design: A Guide for Public Health Practitioners' on how to make communities more bicycle friendly and walkable.

    National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) [external link] – professional association focusing on school facilities planning and healthy school design

    National Crime Prevention Council –– Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (NCPC – CPTED) [external link] – Provides information on CPTED training through the National Crime Prevention Council.

    Smart Growth in Maryland [external link] – overview of Maryland's Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation program initiated in 1997.

    The Stormwater Manager’s Resource Center (SMRC) [external link] – The Stormwater Manager's Resource Center is designed specifically for stormwater practitioners, local government officials and others that need technical assistance on stormwater management issues. Created and maintained by the Center for Watershed Protection, SMRC has everything you need to know about stormwater in a single site.

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

    • Healthy School Environments [external link] – gateway to online resources to help facility managers, school administrators, architects, design engineers, school nurses, parents, teachers, and staff address environmental health issues in schools
    • Environmental Benefits of Smart Growth [external link] – information about smart growth issues and how they affect the environment

    University Resources

    Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access [external link] – The IDEA Center is dedicated to improving the design of environments and products by making them more usable, safer and appealing to people with a wide range of abilities throughout their life spans.

    Center for Universal Design [external link] – The Center for Universal Design is a national research, information, and technical assistance center that evaluates, develops, and promotes universal design in housing, public and commercial facilities, and related products.

    Institute on Aging and Environment at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, School of Architecture and Urban Planning [external link] – Promotes research, scholarship, and service concerning environments for older persons.

    National Center on Accessibility [external link] – A collaborative program of Indiana University and the National Park Service, the National Center on Accessibility is the nation’s premiere resource promoting access for people with disabilities in recreation.

    The National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education [external link] – The goal of the center is to provide up–to–date information on smart growth research currently being conducted by the University of Maryland. Tools and services provided by the center are designed to guide developers and policy makers toward "smarter" land–use decisions.

    Public Health Grand Rounds [external link] – The University of North Carolina and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsor the Public Health Grand Rounds to promote a leadership–level national dialogue on public health issues of strategic significance.

    University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Human–Environment Research Laboratory [external link] – studies include canopy and crime, girls and greenery, and neighbors and nature