Healthy Neighborhood Food Environments Using Public Policy and Planning to Amplify and Sustain Neighborhood-Scale Efforts

Transcription

1 Healthy Neighborhood Food Environments Using Public Policy and Planning to Amplify and Sustain Neighborhood-Scale Efforts Healthy Neighborhoods Fund Collaborative Meeting Samina Raja, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning Principal Investigator, Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (UB Food Lab)

2 Three Ingredients for Long-Term Success 1. Nest neighborhood efforts within local government policy and planning 2. Embed policy/planning efforts with place-based strategies and people-based strategies 3. Neighborhood food environments cannot be improved without improving community food systems

3 Many Pathways Forward NON-BINDING PUBLIC POLICIES Resolutions, declarations, etc. PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION LEVERS Formal public plans Programs Ordinances, regulations, standards, administrative orders, etc. Public finance reform (expenditure and revenues) Governance mechanisms Raja, Samina. In Beatley, Timothy. (ed). Healthy Environments, Healing Spaces: Current Practice and Future Directions in Health and Design, 2016 (expected).

4 Many Pathways Forward NON-BINDING PUBLIC POLICIES Resolutions Plans 1. Neighborhood (or, area) plan 2. Comprehensive plan 3. Sustainability or environmental plan 4. Economic development plan PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION LEVERS Program s Ordinances, regulations, standards, administrative orders, etc. Public finance reform (expenditure and revenues) Govern ance mecha nisms Raja, Samina. In Beatley, Timothy. (ed). Healthy Environments, Healing Spaces: Current Practice and Future Directions in Health and Design, 2016 (expected).

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6 NON-BINDING PUBLIC POLICIES Many Pathways Forward Resolutions Plans Programs Ordinances, regulations, etc. Healthy corner store programs (Minneapolis) Community coupon programs (Cass County, Iowa) Community gardening programs; (Seattle, WA) Parks as community gardens; (Las Cruces, NM) Giving Groves (Kansas, MO) PUBLIC POLICY IMPLEMENTATION LEVERS Zoning code reform (Across the country) Overlay districts/planned Unit Developments (Madison, WI) Subdivision regulation reform; landscaping ordinance (edible landscaping) Public finance reform (expenditure and revenues) Licensing and fees (e.g. Minneapolis) Sale of bonds, capital budgeting, tax abatements, community block grant funds (Across the country) Economic development funding (Across the country; REDC) Governance mechanisms Inter-agency task force (e.g. Seattle) Food policy coordinator (Pacific Northwest) Food policy councils (Across the country; Buffalo-Erie County FPC) Raja, Samina. In Beatley, Timothy. (ed). Healthy Environments, Healing Spaces: Current Practice and Future Directions in Health and Design, 2016

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8 Public Finance Opportunities - Identify local and state economic development opportunities and mechanisms - Example 1. State-wide effort Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) - Alignment of state s economic development resources by region - Doesn t explicitly call for healthy food access but several strategic opportunities (e.g. green roofs = rooftop gardens) - Deadline coming up soon

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10 Governance mechanism - Sustaining efforts requires a lasting advocate - Example 1. Food Policy Councils - Advisory group that advises the local government on policy changes to support the food system - Buffalo-Erie FPC - Formal ~2 year process to establish structure (following a resolution) - Created by law (as opposed to resolution) - Nested under the County s Board of Health - Comprises of stakeholders across the FS - Consider beginning with a neighborhood food working group representing all food stakeholders Raja, S, et al. Rustbelt Radicalism: A Decade of Food Systems Planning in Buffalo, New York, 2014

11 Buffalo, NY

12 Buffalo, NY

13 Resources Growing Food Connections - Communities of Innovation Best Practices - Searchable national database with hundreds of adopted and implemented local government policies - growingfoodconnections.org Regional Economic Development Council - regionalcouncils.ny.gov Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities-Buffalo policy briefs - UB Food Lab - foodsystemsplanning.ap.buffalo.edu

14 Questions Thank you!