The ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative is leveraging the power of ULI’s global networks to shape projects and places in ways that improve the health of people and communities.

Building Healthy Places Toolkit: New Digital Format Released at Spring Meeting

The new ULI report Building Healthy Places Toolkit: Strategies for Enhancing Health in the Built Environmentis now available in an enhanced digital format. Users can click through the site to read the recommendations, discover which apply to their projects, and learn about projects and developers that have incorporated strategies to improve health.

ULI district and national councils are continuing to hold programs to promote and publicize the Toolkit. Recent and upcoming programs have been organized by ULI Houston, ULI North Texas, ULI Philippines, and ULI British Columbia.

Explore the online Toolkit.
Read a Health Affairs blog post on the Toolkit and healthy design from Khanh Nguyen of the Colorado Health Foundation.

America in 2015 Just Released

America in 2015, the second edition of ULI’s community survey, gauges Americans’ opinions and realities regarding housing, transportation, and community. The report, which was released at ULI’s Spring Meeting last week, uncovers important community design–related barriers to living a healthy life, including:

• 21 percent of Americans say that crime makes it unsafe to walk in their neighborhoods, and 25 percent say traffic makes it unsafe to walk.
• 38 percent of Americans say they lack outdoor places for recreation in their communities.
• 16 percent say that healthy food is not readily available in their communities.
• 48 percent say their communities lack sufficient bike lanes. Learn more.

Forum on Corridors Focuses on Health

Last week, the ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative and the Rose Center for Public Leadership convened public and private leaders to discuss how to reinvent urban and suburban arterials in healthier ways. The forum, held in conjunction with the 2015 ULI Spring Meeting as part of the Healthy Corridors project, focused on opportunities to improve health outcomes for the people who live, work, and travel along commercial corridors. Learn more.

ULI Case Studies Roundup

The ULI Case Studies Program showcases projects that are best practices in urban development, and provides detailed information on the development process, cost data, photos, and videos. Several recently profiled projects have also implemented strategies to improve the health of residents and tenants.

Learn more:

• Bullitt Center (Seattle, Washington)
• CityCentre (Houston, Texas)
• ECO Modern Flats (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
• Via Verde (New York, New York)
• Willowsford (Loudoun County, Virginia)

ChangeLab Solutions Releases Healthy Housing Resource

Oakland, California–based ChangeLab Solutions has released a new policy toolkit: Preserving, Protecting, and Expanding Affordable Housing. The guide helps practitioners and advocates who work at the intersection of health and housing by providing a set of six policy strategies aimed at ensuring that all people have access to affordable housing in areas where they want to live. Learn more.