Measuring community health: a new research model puts the community in the driver's seat.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 22 June 2017

One of the most significant ways to transform health and grow local economies is by improving neighborhoods through a type of development called transit-oriented development: high-density housing that integrates commercial, retail, and green space within easy walking distance of public transportation.

Promoting such development was the impetus behind the 2014 launch of the Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund, a partnership between CLF and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation. Over the past three years, the Fund has helped bring $18 million in financing to support six development projects in the Greater Boston area.

But, completing a new development is really just the beginning of the story. The true success of such targeted investment will come with the changes it brings to a community over time. That's where Vedette Gavin, CLF's Director of Research, comes in. "The reality is that the relationship between development and health is extremely complex," she says.

Development can affect income security, housing stability, neighborhood safety, population mobility, and culture--all of which influence health. Understanding how those factors interact is critical to measuring the effectiveness of transit-oriented development on neighborhoods and people. So in 2015, Gavin launched the Healthy Neighborhoods Study, with...