Crosswalk Essays: Stories About the Connection Between Health and Place
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Focus Areas
Capacity Building & Leadership, Healthy Communities -
Issues
Community Development, Mental Health, Rural Health -
Expertise
Leadership Development -
Programs
Build Healthy Places Network
In these Crosswalk Essays from PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network, learn how policymakers, community developers and residents are connecting to find the correlation between health and place.
Those Who Hold the Data Shape the Future
Across the country, grassroots leaders are transforming how data is used—reclaiming it as a tool for justice and community power. Rather than relying on outside institutions to define their needs or provide solutions, communities most impacted by health inequities are building their own approaches to data grounded in lived experiences, cultural knowledge, and local priorities.
Build Healthy Places Network’s latest Crosswalk highlights how community-rooted organizations are leading this shift. From developing neighborhood-driven data infrastructures to informing policy with resident insights, these groups are showing what’s possible when data is not just collected about communities, but created with and for them.
Building a Sustainable Future: How Healthcare and Community Development Can Unite for Climate Justice
Disinvested neighborhoods across the U.S. are facing severe impacts from climate change, but new federal funding for sustainability and resilience presents a significant opportunity for health and community development organizations to join forces. By collaborating on climate justice initiatives, these groups can create healthier, more resilient communities. In this issue, BHPN delves into how multi-sector partnerships are addressing crucial issues like flooding, affordable housing, and infrastructure—key elements for enhancing community health.
For Us, By Us: Self-Determination and Community Power at the Forefront of Tribal Land Development
Tribal nations have faced barriers to self-determination since the U.S. was founded, but multi-sector partnerships focused on providing Tribal members with affordable housing and healthcare become more widespread.
It’s Not Just About the Buildings: How Community Development Organizations are Promoting Residents’ Mental Health
Around the country, housing and community development groups are increasingly stepping up to partner with residents to improve community well-being by proactively strengthening residents’ emotional and mental health.
Finding Health in the Infrastructure Law: New Opportunities for Community Investments that Address the Social Determinants of Health
The Biden administration’s “once-in-a-generation” push to revamp U.S. infrastructure keeps people’s well-being at its heart. Read how the proposed legislation hopes to grow the economy, both "sustainably and equitably."
The Power of Partnerships: Solving a Challenge for Healthcare
As the affordable housing crisis escalates and labor markets get competitive, healthcare systems turn to multi-sector partnerships to build affordable workforce housing to sustain recruitment. Learn how this collaboration is promoting both short- and long-term solutions for the future.
Community-Owned Land Trusts Catch Hospitals’ Eye
The dual benefits of community ownership mean better health for residents and patients. Learn how land trusts are providing a foundation for equitable access and wealth-building.
Anti-Racism Sparks Movement for Trauma-Informed Design
Efforts to address trauma are finally being democratized. Using design to create spaces that feel safe is vital to addressing the impact of race-based stress, say advocates.
How to Prevent Gentrification’s Displacement
Community benefits agreements, community ownership, and resident voice can help neighborhoods thrive from local investment. Learn how residents in Chicago are using these tools to speak out against displacement.
Photos courtesy of Crosswalk Magazine
PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network is on a mission to shift the way organizations work across the community development, finance, and health sectors in order to collectively advance equity, reduce poverty, and improve health in neighborhoods across the country.
Originally published by Build Healthy Places Network
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