What to know
When communities are involved in redevelopment focused on improving health, the sky is the limit. Communities can help turn vacant lots into community gardens or former industrial sites to schools and community centers. Here are some tools and resources to help communities create healthfields.
ATSDR Action Model
ATSDR's Action Model helps the diverse members of the development community – officials, developers, community supporters, and residents, include health in redevelopment. Communities can use the Action Model to identify and incorporate common goals in strategic planning. Brownfields and other land reuse sites can be opportunities to improve community health. They can be used to create "healthfields" from formerly blighted, potentially contaminated, or underused sites. Healthfields are sites that are redeveloped with health in mind.
The action model encourages people to think about broad public health topics connected to community health:
- Health – physical and mental health
- Community – education, economy, safety, security
- Land and Environment – contaminated soil, water, or air, parks, waterways
- Buildings and Infrastructure - dilapidated buildings, grocery stores, sidewalks
Action Model Community Health Pilots
The Action Model has proven useful in pilot-scale community health projects in the following cities:
- Taking Action: Rebuilding Joplin after the Tornado
- Baraboo, WI Ringling Riverfront Development (video)
- Community Health Monitoring: Baraboo Ringling Riverfront Development (August 16, 2010)
- City of Blue Island, IL: Community Health Monitoring
- Detroit, MI 48217 Approach
- Milwaukee, WI 30th Street Corridor
- Healthy Communities Count! Healthy Communities and the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Line, St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN
- View Action Model Fact Sheet
- New! Modelo_de_accion (Spanish)
- Action Model Toolkit
- For additional information about the ATSDR Action Model, send an email to atsdr.landreuse@cdc.gov.