IPA’s Healthy Communities
Initiative
Marcia Scott, IPA Associate Policy Scientist
William DeCoursey, IPA Policy Specialist
Julia O’Hanlon, IPA Assistant Policy Scientist
Claire Beck, IPA Research Assistant
Delaware Institute for Local Government Leaders
Carvel Center • Georgetown, Del. • October 22, 2010
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Economic Benefits of Walkability
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Less Healthy Communities - Why?
• In the past
– Communities were built on a human scale –
people could walk everywhere!
– Compact, mixed-use development was the norm.
– Streets were connected.
• Today
–
–
–
–
In the era of suburbanization - the car is king!
Land-use patterns promote sprawl.
Developments don’t connect (cul-de-sacs).
Lack of pedestrian infrastructure (sidewalks).
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Community Design and Health
• Pedestrian-Friendly • Lacks Connectivity
• Street Connectivity
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• Auto-Dependent
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Auto-Centric Development is Costly!
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Benefits of Walkable Communities
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How Can Healthy Communities
Boost Local Economic Vitality?
1. Higher Property Values
2. Attract “New Economy”
Workers
3. Captures an Emerging
“Lifestyle” Retail Market
4. Attract Tourists
5. Provides Complete Street
Benefits
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1. Higher Property Values
• Higher home values in
walkable neighborhoods
• Home prices rise with
proximity to the CBD and
shorter commute times
• Positive correlation between
higher “Walk Scores” and
property values = $3,000 per
1 point
www.walkscore.org
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www.ceoforcities.org
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2. Attract “New Economy” Workers
• Placeless sprawl lacks
vibrant centers and
competes poorly in new
economy.
• Creative workers in new
economy are migrating
to places with
participatory amenities.
• New economy thrives in
areas with traditional
land-use patterns.
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3. Capture an Emerging “Lifestyle” Market
Walkable downtowns:
• Attract patrons with
authentic sense of place
• Are economically viable –
Delaware Main Street
Towns realize consistent
annual business and job
gains
• Are being duplicated by
developers building
“New Town Centers”
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Delaware Main Street
Program
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Healthy Places Attract People
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Got “Sense of Place?”
• Distinctive commercial setting?
• Unique identity or heritage?
• Mix of uses (dining, retail, office, government)?
• Pedestrian friendly – best experienced on foot?
• Vibrant atmosphere – opportunities for social
interaction and contact?
• Community spirit – festivals, culture, entertainment
• Community ownership
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4. Attract Tourists
Good Quality of Life:
• Builds and supports the
local economy
• Small-scale
entrepreneurship
• More quality goods available
• Higher real estate values
• Local ownership, local value
• More desirable jobs
• Increased currency velocity
• Greater tax revenue
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• Less need for municipal
services
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Walkability Attracts Tourists
Heritage Tourism
Eco-Tourism
Agri-Tourism
Recreation and
Trail-Based
Tourism
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5. Provides Complete Streets Benefits
Complete Street
Networks:
• Include all transportation
modes
• Encourage pedestrian activity
• Support a good business
climate – increased retail and
commercial activity
• Change road conditions to
enhance safety, convenience,
and reduced travel times
• Boost economy by increasing
property values
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Costs and Benefits of Sidewalks
• Addition: 1.5 m (5-ft.) sidewalk
and two street border trees.
• Cost: an extra one to three
percent of total cost to develop
the lot.
• Benefit: increased property value
of $3,000 to $5,000
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How to Achieve a Walkable Town
• Intact town center
• Mixed uses
• Public places
• Universal design
• Traffic – safe and
courteous movement
• Highly-connected street,
sidewalk, trail
infrastructure
• Design that is properly
scaled
• Town designed for people
1st, cars 2nd
• Community leaders that
are visionary,
communicative, and
progressive
– Dan Burden, Walkable
Communities, Inc.
Seek Technical Assistance from IPA
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Overview:
UD Healthy Communities Initiative
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IPA Healthy Communities Team
Project funded by Delaware Division of Public Health
• Eric Jacobson - Associate Professor
• Marcia Scott - Associate Policy Scientist
• Julia O’Hanlon - Assistant Policy Scientist
• William DeCoursey, AICP - Policy Specialist II
• Mark Deshon - Assistant Policy Scientist
• Claire Beck & Natalie Rosenberg - Graduate
Research Assistants
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UD Healthy Communities Initiative
Ongoing Activities:
• Work with partner communities
to improve walkability
• Provide technical assistance to
partner communities
• Provide local government
training
• Actively participate in new
coalition Delaware Partners to
Promote Healthy Eating and
Active Living (HEAL)
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Walkability Assessments
Improve walkability to
achieve health,
environmental, and
economic benefits.
1. Conduct community
walkability
assessments.
Townsend, Del.
2. Provide report.
3. Opportunity to field-test
assessment tools.
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Healthy Communities: A Resource
Guide for Delaware Municipalities
Purpose is to show:
• Benefits of walkability
• Need to build consensus
• Importance of policies and
plans that support walkability
• How to leverage funds
• Need for improvements to
built environment
• Need for recreation
programming!
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UD Healthy Communities Initiative
New Activities:
• Complete GIS analysis of food
deserts in Delaware.
• Enhance online healthy
communities toolkit.
• Introduce assessment tools
• Support implementation of local
complete streets policies.
• Provide information on healthimpact assessments (HIA).
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Please visit: www.ipa.udel.edu/healthyDEtoolkit
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Process Overview
• Developed two new Delaware-specific
assessment tools:
– Healthy Communities: The Comprehensive Plan
Assessment Tool
– Healthy Communities: The Walkability
Assessment Tool
• These tools are outgrowths of HEAL
activities/strategies to
– “Develop a global assessment tool to identify
healthy community resources”
– “Examine current comprehensive plans for
healthy community resources”
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Healthy Communities:
The Walkability Assessment Tool
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What is the Walkability Assessment
Tool?
• Intended Audience - Delaware local gov’ts
• Purpose - Support state’s municipalities by
– Providing a user-friendly tool….
– Helping identify opportunities….
• Intended Outcomes - Local governments will
– Become more aware of healthy-community
concepts, resources, and walkability best practices.
– Identify areas for improvement and develop
strategies to increase walkability.
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Three-Step Assessment Process
• Pre-Assessment Questionnaire (Step 1)
– 7 questions
– Walk Score
• Delaware’s Walkability Checklist (Step 2)
– 16 questions/ratings
– In-the-field assessment
• Post-Assessment Questionnaire (Step 3)
– Summarize
– Analyze
– Prioritize
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The Pre-Assessment Questionnaire
• Why should the municipality initiate a
walkable-community assessment?
• Who will lead the assessment process and
be responsible for disseminating results?
• How might the town or city use the
assessment results to develop a healthycommunity project or initiative within a
particular area?
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Delaware’s Walkability Checklist
• Evaluate areas on a 1–6 (high-to-low)
Walkability Rating Scale based on various
walkability criteria.
• Consider condition and maintenance
of walking facilities, pedestrian
amenities, safety, and
destinations within
an area.
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Example Question: Accommodation
Walking Facilities and Their Maintenance
Does the sidewalk, multi-use path, or paved trail
accommodate people who use strollers,
wheelchairs, or other assistive mobility devices?
Rating (circle one):
1
2
3
4
5
6
Locations of problems:
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Example Question: Destinations
What destinations are present?
Check all that apply:
Small grocery/convenience store
Farmers’ market
Church
Entertainment
Library
Playground/park
Retail stores
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The Post-Assessment Questionnaire
• Final step of assessment process
• Summarize and analyze results
• Assist in prioritizing issues
and potential changes
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Healthy Communities: The
Comprehensive Plan Assessment Tool
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What is the Comprehensive Plan
Assessment Tool?
• Intended Audience - Delaware local gov’ts and
planning practitioners
• Purpose – Support the development of more
health-focused comprehensive plans
• Intended Outcomes – Delaware municipalities
will integrate more “healthy-community”
elements into their comprehensive plans,
resulting in more active and vibrant
communities
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Assessment Tool Components
• Healthy-community concepts
• Role of the comprehensive plan
• Development
methodology
• The Comprehensive Plan
Healthy-Community
Checklist
• Examples
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Five Overarching Principles of
Planning for a Healthy Community
• Bicycle and pedestrian accessibility
• Complete Streets principles
• Parks and open spaces
• Compact and mixed-use
development
• Convenient access to
healthy food
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Example of the Review Process
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The Comprehensive Plan HealthyCommunity Checklist
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The Comprehensive Plan HealthyCommunity Checklist - Newark
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Thank You!
For additional information, contact:
William DeCoursey, Julia O’Hanlon, or
Claire Beck (302-831-8971 or ipa@udel.edu)
Institute for Public Administration
University of Delaware
www.ipa.udel.edu
serving the public good, shaping tomorrow’s leaders
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