Healthy Places Index® Policy Guides

Every household should be able afford the necessities of a healthy life—medical care, healthy food, quality housing, education, and other basics.  Stable employment provides people with the income necessary to buy these goods and services and maintain good health.

Every household should be able afford the necessities of a healthy life—medical care, healthy food, quality housing, education, and other basics. Sufficient income allows households reliable access to the goods and services that are necessary for a healthy life.

Every household should be able to afford the necessities of a healthy life—medical care, healthy food, quality housing, education, and other basics. Research indicates that economic opportunity is one the most powerful predictors of good health, and that impacts on health are especially pronounced for people in or near poverty.

Every child should have the chance to learn, grow, and thrive. Early childhood is a crucial period for brain development, shaping nearly every aspect of one’s future health and wellbeing.

Everyone should have the opportunity to seek higher education and go to college if they choose. A college education is essential for many higher-paying careers, and it also helps people develop the cognitive skills and knowledge necessary to make healthy choices.

Every school-age youth should have educational opportunities that prepare them for higher education, a career and the future of their choice. Education is linked to increased life expectancy and reduced chronic disease rates, infant mortality and other negative health outcomes.

Everyone should be able to contribute their voice to the political process and to participate in their communities. Voter participation is an indicator of both social power and social cohesion.

Everyone should be able to contribute their voice to the political process and to participate in their communities. Census participation is an indicator of both social power and social cohesion.

Everybody should have safe, accessible and convenient transportation options to get to work and other destinations, especially if they do not own or have access to a car. Lack of access to a car should not limit people’s access to opportunities.

Everybody should have safe, accessible and convenient transportation options to get to work and other destinations. Active commuting by foot, bike and transit creates opportunities for physical activity, provides transportation options for those without a car, encourages social cohesion, and reduces contributions to climate change and air pollution.

Everybody should have access to medical care when they need it and to keep their bodies healthy with regular check-ups. Research indicates that health insurance dramatically improves health outcomes by allowing people to access necessary care.

Everybody should have access to jobs, schools, shops and other essential goods and services which can impact one's health and quality of life. Living in a community with a mix of uses and destinations can improve health by reducing household costs, encouraging physical activity, reducing chronic diseases, improving mental health, fostering community connections and supporting community resilience to climate change and pollution.

Everybody should have access to parks and other open spaces near their home. Parks can encourage physical activity, reduce chronic diseases, improve mental health, foster community connections, and support community resilience to climate change and pollution.

Everybody should have trees and other plant life near their home. Trees are beneficial for mental and physical health in many ways.

All residents should be able to afford adequate housing without giving up healthy food, medical care, or other necessities, or accepting unsafe housing conditions. With budgets stretched to the breaking point, low-income renters also experience housing insecurity and are vulnerable to displacement from their homes and neighborhoods.

All residents should be able to afford adequate housing without giving up healthy food, medical care, or other necessities, or accepting unsafe housing conditions. When housing cost burdens are high, individuals and families must make difficult choices with limited options.

Everyone should be able to live in a safe and habitable home. Poor quality and unstable housing quality exposes residents to toxins, mold, pests and conditions that can trigger asthma and increase risks of injuries.

People should be able to live in housing with enough space for everyone living there. Uncrowded housing can improve mental health including stress and depression; decrease the spread of communicable diseases like tuberculosis; and improve children’s wellbeing and educational outcomes.

All residents should be able to afford adequate housing without giving up healthy food, medical care, or other necessities, or accepting unsafe housing conditions. Everyone should have the opportunity to build wealth over time by purchasing a home, which can protect against rising rents and promote social ties and neighborhood stability.

Everyone should be able to live in neighborhoods where it is safe to breathe. When ozone levels in the air are high, it can cause lung inflammation and more serious respiratory issues.

Everyone should be able to live in neighborhoods where it is safe to breathe. Since fine particulate matter is so small, it can reach deep into people’s lungs leading adverse health outcomes.

Everyone should be able to live in neighborhoods where it is safe to breathe. Since diesel particulate matter is so small, it can reach deep into people’s lungs.

Everyone should have access to safe, affordable drinking water. Water is an essential human right needed for healthy outcomes.

Our homes, neighborhoods and jobs should help protect us from heat-related health impacts. When temperatures are extremely high, especially for extended periods, people can experience heat-related illnesses such as heat stress, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, which if not promptly and properly treated can be fatal.

Our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces should help protect us from climate-related health threats, like heat waves and flooding. Impervious surfaces are materials that do not allow water to soak into the soil.

Every worker should be safe from heat-related health impacts and other workplace hazards. Working outdoors increases workers’ exposure to the extreme heat, poor air quality, diseases transmitted by ticks and mosquitos, industrial exposures, and injury.

Every person should be able to get to school, work, doctor and dentist appointments, and other destinations that provide essential goods and services. Transit access has been linked to improved physical and mental health, physical activity, employment outcomes, medical care, and resiliency during disasters.

We should all be able to live in homes and neighborhoods that are safe from sea level rise and flooding. Sea level rise can cause drowning, collisions, injuries, electrocutions, hypothermia, stress and other mental health conditions, food insecurity, unsafe drinking water, toxic releases, respiratory ailments, and displacement.

Every child, regardless of the size of their household, should have the economic, social and emotional support needed for a healthy life. Living in a home with two married or partnered adults or caregivers can help ensure that children grow up with the support and resources they need to be healthy.

Everyone should have access to goods and services in their community that can support a healthy lifestyle. When there is a high concentration of places that do not promote and support health, including liquor stores, bars, and restaurants that sell alcohol, it can adversely affect the health of people living in those communities.

Everyone should have access to healthy food options in their community. Having access to a nearby supermarket can encourage a healthier diet and eating behaviors, lower the costs of obtaining food, reduce chronic diseases, and lower the risk of food insecurity.