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Elevating Health & Equity into the Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) process

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Celia Harris, M.P.H. Project DirectorHuman Impact Partners

celia@humanimpact.org510-452-9442 ext 103

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Indicators (“metrics”)

• A way to measure, indicate, point out, or point to with more or less exactness

• Something that is a sign, symptom, or index of

• Something used to show visually the condition of a system

• Can be used to measure progress

• Can be used to show direction of change

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• Statewide coalition participated in developing and prioritizing 13 health and equity metrics

• Proposed methodologies accompany each metric

• Goal: incorporate metrics into Regional Transportation Planning processes for each MPO

• Example indicators:•VMT•Vehicle emissions•Access to goods and services•Daily physical activity related to transportation• Injuries from vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle collisions•Share of housing growth in transit priority areas•Housing and transportation affordability•Respiratory outcomes related to traffic-related PM2.5 and NO2

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Goals• Incorporate certain metrics into monitoring plan for

MTP/SCS

• Develop tools to analyze health impacts in TPA analyses

• Incorporate stronger health performance measures in next MTP/SCS

Metrics for Sacramento MTP/SCS

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Strength

MTP/SCS considers mix of housing types and costs by community type, with an eye toward preventing displacement

Recommendation

Measure percent of household income consumed by housing and transportation combined

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Strength

As compared with 2008 MTP, the MTP/SCS focuses more on transit, pedestrian/bike, and complete streets investments and less on roadway expansion.

Recommendation

Measure daily amount (in minutes) of physical activity due to transportation priorities, projects, policies, and changes

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Strengths

MTP/SCS recommends the use of SMAQMD protocol to assess exposure to vehicle emissions from housing within 500 feet of busy roadways

MTP/SCS includes comparison of EJ and non-EJ communities in proportion of residents within 500 feet of busy roadways

Recommendation• Extend buffer for exposure analysis from 500 feet to 1,000 feet• Measure premature mortality attributed to traffic-related ambient

PM 2.5• Measure asthma incidence and exacerbations attributed to

traffic-related NO2 or Nox

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Strength

Measures injuries and fatalities per VMT disaggregated by mode (auto, truck, pedestrian, bicycle)

Recommendations

Measure injuries and fatalities per capita disaggregated by mode (auto, truck, pedestrian, bicycle)

Map injury and fatality collisions

Conduct EJ analysis

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Strengths

Measures access to transit, jobs, medical care, higher education, and parks for EJ and non-EJ populations

Recommendations

In addition to these, also measure access to primary and secondary schools, restaurants, grocery stores, food markets and childcare

Measure access to the above businesses and services by walking and biking

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Questions & Discussion

Questions?