←Back to Resource Hub

Healthy Community Design

Evidence shows that where people live plays a key role in their health. Things like housing availability and location, workplaces, the way streets are designed, transportation and the density of alcohol and tobacco retailers all influence health factors and can make it easier or harder for community members to access healthy options.

Healthy community design is a key part of BPHC’s work in Burlington. However, it is important that the people who live, work, and play in this community are engaged in and reflected in all aspects of our strategies. For that reason we’ve included resources below to help our partners and community learn more about effective community-level strategies that improve health.

Health Policy Clearinghouse is a Vermont-based online, searchable database for model prevention and health policies as well as other resources.

Vermont Healthy Communities  is a pilot project that is a partnership of the Vermont Department of Health, Vermont Department of Housing & Community Development, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide capacity and resources to communities to help advance healthy community design and health equity projects.

Changelab Solutions provides resources to support improvements in neighborhood health. 

Frameworks Institute helps mission-driven organizations communicate about social issues in ways that build public will to support progressive change.

American Public Health Association offers this website with information and tools for supporting healthy communities.

NIH Alcohol Policy Information System provides convenient access to policy topics related to preventing and reducing underage drinking at a local, state, and national level.

Supporting Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Communities

BPHC has worked with numerous major housing providers to assist in achieving their smoke-free housing policy goals in practice.

• A document on restorative practice and a draft script developed by the Chittenden County Community Justice Center can help property managers and owners achieve greater compliance by integrating these concepts into their handbooks, leases, and overall practices. Contact the 3CJC for additional assistance or technical support integrating restorative concepts into your organization’s practices.

• We created this resource sheet to help bridge your resource and knowledge gaps as well.

• We encourage property owners to engage the supports of My Healthy Vermont’s programs, including offering the potential to offer free, on-site cessation groups.

• We worked with companies like, Alertify and Minut, who are offering exciting new, cost-effective, tech-based solutions to in-unit smoking including privacy-compliant detectors that send back-end notifications to property managers when smoke is detected (using models that eliminate common household triggers like cooking smoke or incense), generate incident reports removing bias from enforcement, and using reputable data to support eviction processes in worst-case scenario situations.

Need help? →