HIA Practitioner Stories
Connect Columbus Multi-Modal Thoroughfare Plan HIA
By Alex Smith
Do you live in a car centric city? Do some residents not have access to an automobile and are at a distinct disadvantage when seeking services, education and employment? Take a look at how Columbus, Ohio is reversing the auto-first thinking of traditional traffic engineering and the unequitable distribution of transportation resources.
All Eyes on Mongolia- Breaking Ground on HIA!
By Erica Westwood
HIA is at an interesting stage right now, in an interesting place- namely Mongolia. In Mongolia, which often remains quiet on the international stage, HIA is being carried to a cutting edge place. A new national law has been passed, requiring that health (the way we talk about it in HIA) is examined within all environmental impact assessments (EIAs), making this the second country in the world, other than Thailand, to pass and try to implement legislation requiring HIA in EIA. So how did this new law come to pass, and why Mongolia? And, what can the global community learn from this experience?
Treatment Alternatives to Prison: Q & A with David Liners
At the National HIA Meeting in June 2015, the Health Impact Project honored two HIA teams for improving community health and well-being in their communities. In this interview, David Liners— Executive Director of WISDOM— shares his experience working on an HIA that assessed the potential health impacts of increasing Wisconsin’s budget for the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) Fund, which provides money to specialty treatment courts and criminal justice diversion programs.
Measuring the Health Benefits of Biking and Walking at the Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
The Nashville Area MPO has made significant progress in integrating health into the transportation planning process by changing policy and project funding, as well as allocating funding for active transportation research and modeling. Read their full story to learn about the policy and research outcomes that contributed to their success.
The Curry County Housing Stock Upgrade Initiative Pilot: Q & A with Annette Klinefelter
At the National HIA Meeting in June 2015, the Health Impact Project honored two HIA teams for improving community heath and well-being in their communities. In this interview, Annette Klinefelter shares her experience working on an HIA that informed decisions about funding and implementation of the Curry County Housing Stock Upgrade Initiative Pilot in Oregon.
The Role of Community Health Centers in Health Impact Assessments: One Organizer’s Account of a HIA’s Impact on Her Community
By Michelle Thomas, Hermosa Vida Community Organizer
In the spring of 2014 two Community Organizers from North Country HealthCare, a community health center in Flagstaff, AZ, became aware of a proposed project to build luxury student housing in a location which was currently the home of over 200 low-income residents. The organizers worked with a local neighborhood association, mobile home park residents, an independent Health Impact Assessment consultant, and a variety of other community stakeholders to conduct Flagstaff Arizona’s first Health Impact Assessment. The story of how this came to be, what happened, and the respective role of CHCs in HIAs is one worth telling.