Considering health and equity makes a difference in how public infrastructure projects roll out

The design, construction, and operation of public infrastructure—such as green spaces and water and sewage systems—can strongly affect people’s health. New research was just released from the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, in partnership with the Center for Community Health and Evaluation. It found that health impact assessments have led to changes in infrastructure decisions that promoted health and equity, especially when community members were engaged in the process.

CCHE examined nearly 250 HIAs conducted in the U.S. between 2004 and 2019 to see how they affected decisions about infrastructure projects and raise awareness of health and equity issues. CCHE’s work uncovered how HIAs uniquely contribute to infrastructure decisions, including elevating community perspectives to generate solutions with broad support and helping communities take a broader view of potential health effects. We found that HIAs are most likely to impact decision makers if they fit into approaches that leverage influence (e.g., existing community organizing structures), are driven by the community, and are savvy in how they disseminate recommendations.

Read more about CCHE's evaluation in a KPWHRI Healthy Findings blog post and download the brief from the Pew Charitable Trusts website.