MPC Participating In Planners4Health Initiative
The Tennessee Chapter of the American Planning Association (TAPA), in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) and Nashville Civic Design Center (NCDC), has received a $60,000 grant from Planners4Health.
The initiative aims to integrate planning and public health at the local level across the state of Tennessee.
The Planners4Health initiative marks the three-year culmination of the American Planning Association’s (APA) $9 million Plan4Health program.
The program works to combat two determinants of chronic disease – lack of physical activity and lack of access to nutritious foods.
Funding for the initiative is provided through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Tennessee is one of 28 states to receive the grant which funds a six-month project. In Tennessee, partners will be develop practices and recommendations to strengthen the integration of public health into local and regional planning practices. A statewide task force, made up of 20 members from the health and planning sectors across the state, will oversee the work.
In addition to greater collaboration and resource sharing, the task force will:
- Review and assess existing healthy planning initiatives, highlighting success stories from across Tennessee;
- Aid in the rollout of TDH’s Healthy Places website;
- Develop training materials for TDH’s new Healthy Development Coordinators;
- Provide support and resources to counties throughout the state to implement healthy planning initiatives through a healthy infrastructure ROI tool; and
- Participate in monthly collaboration sessions with the other grantees from across the country.
Our region is well represented in the initiative. Staff from the Knox County Health Department, Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, and the Great Schools Partnership are all part of the task force.
For more information about the Planners4Health program, visit www.planning.org/nationalcenters/health/planners4health.