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Helping Communities Create Healthy Places

Our Mission

Safe and Healthy Communities is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and ensuring safe, healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities for all. Through our collaborative systems approach and broad public health expertise, we aim to enhance decision-making and public health and equity outcomes working in other disciplines including land use planning, transportation, housing, climate, the environment, focusing on programs, practice, and policies.
SHC’s Connection Between Health, Equity, and the Built Environment: A Systems Approach
The health of communities is linked to land use design and planning, climate, housing, environmental health, and transportation. Obesity, chronic diseases, crime, safety, social and mental health, access, air and water quality, and health disparities are but a few of the public health issues affected by the form and character of the built environment.
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Issues SHC Focuses On

SHC focuses on policies, programs, and evidence-based approaches that utilize both existing research and stakeholder data, developing recommendations and actions that inform equitable public health practices. Equity is central to SHC’s work to ensure all communities across the nation can achieve optimum physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being beyond the healthcare field.

SHC’s work addresses health inequities in our most marginalized and underserved communities, including people of color, children, people with disabilities, older adults, and those with lower incomes, who tend to be the most impacted by environmental health exposures, climate extremes, access to transportation options, housing, and other social determinants of health.

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Housing for All

SHC recognizes that access to safe, healthy, and affordable housing is essential for an individual’s health, well-being, and quality of life. Poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions, including isolation, asthma, injuries, and poor mental health. All types of housing should accommodate everyone and should be designed for all ages and abilities. At SHC, our team not only contributes to the design and policies of housing properties for all ages and abilities and the design and planning of housing redevelopments with a focus on health and equity, but also the connections to community amenities and services that ensure healthy communities.
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Safe and Accessible Transportation

Transportation planning connects people and places. SHC recognizes that transportation infrastructure investment and planning decisions have a significant impact on the health of communities. New or expanded public transportation options can improve health and equity by reducing traffic crashes and air pollution and improving access to medical care, healthy food, vital services, recreational opportunities, employment, and social connection. Access to these health-related destinations is especially critical for historically underserved populations including older adults and people with disabilities, people of color, and low-income populations. At SHC, we strive to help create transportation systems that support the health, safety, and mobility of all people by leading efforts to integrate the principles of public health and equity into transportation planning and decision-making.
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Neighborhood Design and Planning

Communities’ built environments significantly influence the behaviors and health outcomes of the people living in them, making their planning and design crucial to community equity, safety, well-being, and quality of life. Walkable neighborhoods with convenient access to schools, pharmacies, transportation, and green spaces, encourage residents to be more physically active and reap other health benefits, such as improving mood and reducing stress. Innovative planning and design have also become an increasingly important strategy for offsetting the worsening threats posed by climate change, such as floods, wildfires, and extreme heat. At SHC, our diverse team of experts focus on bridging the gap between planning and design and public health because we believe all people should have a safe, equitable, and healthy neighborhood.
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Nature, Green Spaces, and Parks

Parks and green and blue spaces uniquely enhance the well-being of individuals, the environment, and communities by providing opportunities for culturally meaningful, age-appropriate, safe, fun, engaging spaces that can increase physical activity. Outdoor spaces should cater to citizens of a variety of ages, abilities, incomes, and cultures to ensure that everyone can reap the many benefits related to improving their physical and mental health and quality of life. At SHC, we have completed extensive research of the literature and conducted interviews, evaluation, and designs of park spaces, and developed a safety and health assessment tool related to parks called the Outdoor Livability Assessment Tool (O-LAT).
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Physical Activity & Healthy Food

Staying physically active and eating nutritious foods throughout the duration of life are important aspects of staying healthy and aging well. Maintaining a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity are associated with a reduced risk for chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. The built environment regulates opportunities to provide accessible, desirable, and affordable ways for residents to make healthy lifestyle choices. People are more likely to be active and eat healthier when communities are designed to be safe, walkable, and bikeable and have transit options to everyday destinations. At SHC, our team can analyze accessible data, and conduct focus groups, surveys, walking and food audits, and interviews with residents and other stakeholders for improved community programs and designs that support convenient, safe, and culturally- and age-appropriate options for increasing physical activity and access to healthy foods.
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Climate, Health, and Community Resilience

Climate change, together with other natural and human-made environmental health stressors, influence human health and disease in numerous ways. The effects of these climate-related disruptions can lead to increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease and premature deaths, while also affecting food systems and infectious diseases. Preparing for and adapting to these changes while also creating more resilient communities, cities, and states is a necessary goal in ensuring the health and well-being of all citizens. Climate change disproportionately affects people of color, lower-income, older adults, people with disabilities, people who are pregnant, people with pre-existing health conditions, and children. Specific plans are needed for these groups to equitably address the impacts of climate change. At SHC, our team can research and work collaboratively with stakeholders on conducting research, developing community resilience plans, and also integrating health, equity, and climate change-related issues into neighborhood redevelopment and transportation planning.
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Safe and Healthy Communities is inviting you to learn more about the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (H-LAT Pro) Presentation

Safe and Healthy Communities (SHC) is inviting you to learn more about the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (H-LAT Pro) v.2. The presentation above outlines the user-friendly tool for housing professionals, managers of housing properties, and developers to assess and score independent housing properties for health and safety – especially for older adult, and people with disabilities. This updated presentation will include fun quiz questions, and pictures so viewers can practice assessing the design of apartments, common spaces, outdoor spaces, and more.

Download the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (H-LAT Pro)

Safe and Healthy Communities (SHC) developed the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (referred to as H-LAT Pro). SHC is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and ensuring safe, healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities for all. The tool was funded by the Next50 Initiative, a foundation that promotes independence and dignity for the aging population.

The purpose of this tool is to assess and score the health and safety of existing and future housing properties and provide design, policy, and programming guidance to help older adults age in place.

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Download the Outdoor Livability Assessment Tool (O-LAT)

The Outdoor Livability Assessment Tool is a comprehensive checklist for scoring outdoor spaces on design, physical and mental wellness, safety and security, and management practices to support and increase use regardless of age or ability

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Outdoor Livability Assessment Tool (O-LAT) Presentation

Safe and Healthy Communities (SHC) hosted a webinar to present its Outdoor Livability Assessment Tool (O-LAT).

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Safe and Healthy Communities is inviting you to learn more about the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (H-LAT Pro) Presentation

Safe and Healthy Communities (SHC) is inviting you to learn more about the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (H-LAT Pro) v.2. The presentation above outlines the user-friendly tool for housing professionals, managers of housing properties, and developers to assess and score independent housing properties for health and safety – especially for older adult, and people with disabilities. This updated presentation will include fun quiz questions, and pictures so viewers can practice assessing the design of apartments, common spaces, outdoor spaces, and more.

Download the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (H-LAT Pro)

Safe and Healthy Communities (SHC) developed the Housing Livability Assessment Tool for Professionals (referred to as H-LAT Pro). SHC is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and ensuring safe, healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities for all. The tool was funded by the Next50 Initiative, a foundation that promotes independence and dignity for the aging population.

The purpose of this tool is to assess and score the health and safety of existing housing facilities and provide design, policy, and programming guidance to help older adults age in place.

Learn More

Download the Outdoor Livability Assessment Tool (O-LAT)

The Outdoor Livability Assessment Tool is a comprehensive checklist for scoring outdoor spaces on design, physical and mental wellness, safety and security, and management practices to support and increase use regardless of age or ability

Learn More

Recent Posts

safe housing for aging adults

Transforming the Built Environment To Support Healthy Seniors and Aging in Place

Dr. Roof presenting

Current Projects:

  • New Transit Tool: SHC is in the initial stages of developing an innovative transit accessibility assessment tool for transportation professionals and others to assess and score transit design and infrastructure specific to accessibility for all people
  • Transportation, Health, and Equity at the Federal Level: SHC just finalized its 2-year project for the federal highway administration (FHWA) as part of the WSP Transportation Team Integrating Public Health and Equity into transportation planning at Federal Public Lands, such as national parks. With guidance from a national task force, stakeholder committee, survey, interviews, and research data, a final report and an executive summary was finalized in December. The report includes a framework that identifies the public health and equity related issues, best practices, recommendations and their connection to transportation planning processes, projects, and programs. Reach out to SHC for a copy of the Executive Summary and/or Final Report.
  • Transportation, Health, and Equity at the State Level: SHC is continuing its collaborative work with CDOT to how to best incorporate public health and equity considerations into different transportation projects across the state.
  • Nationwide Education, Marketing and Social Media Campaign: SHC is focusing on expanding the reach and social impact of its Suite of Livability Assessment Tools by launching a nationwide education and marketing campaign (i.e., H-LAT Pro, O-LAT). Campaign includes a quarterly newsletter, training modules, blog and webinar series, extensive enhancements to SHC’s website, and the increased use of social media to list a few.

    Check out SHC’s newest housing infographic to educate about the housing-related needs of people with disabilities and older adults!

    Check out SHC’s new educational module on fire and emergency safety!

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