Creating a Seat for Public Health at the Transportation Planning Table
Background and Purpose
As the fourth largest county in the U.S., Maricopa County, Arizona faces numerous public health issues, including:
• 1 in 4 adults are obese
• Heart disease is the second leading cause of death
• 50% of residents do not meet physical activity recommendations

The Maricopa County Public Health Department (MCPHD) has teamed with local agencies to pioneer innovative approaches to integrate public health elements in active transportation planning process.

Description
Active transportation investments can help reduce social, economic, education, and health gaps. Local initiatives to integrate health into active transportation include:
• Agency Involvement and Collaboration – MCPHD staff have been instrumental in developing region wide, collaborative partnerships where public health has a “seat at the table” to guide and support active transportation plans and infrastructure improvements.
• Countywide Socioeconomic and Health Equity Propensity Models – countywide socioeconomic and health equity models were developed with data provided by the MCPHD to identify concentration of persons with socioeconomic and/or health issues. The models allow planners to quickly visualize areas where vulnerable populations have high disparities in access to active transportation.
• Project Prioritization Scoring Tool - a flexible, data-driven tool was created to rank active transportation needs against safety, access, demand, and social and health inequity conditions. With a weight of 20 percent of the overall scoring, areas within high social and health inequity are given a priority for improvement.
• Non Traditional Outreach - MCPHD supplements outreach efforts by conducting one-on-one surveys (in Spanish and in English) at community centers; Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) clinics; parks; and bus stops. This approach gathers feedback from users that don’t usually participate in the planning process.
Lessons Learned
• Use your local Public Health agency as a resource! Public health staff represent underserved community members and should have a seat at the table.
• Include Public Health and agency partners early and often! Including partners only to review a draft report is too late to build a strong collaboration.
• Diverse participation allows you to view issues from different angles, helping to create plans that serve people of all ages and abilities.
• Public health data is becoming more available and refined. Mapping health data allows decision makers to prioritize projects in areas with the greatest need.
Conclusions and Implications
Actions and projects that have stemmed from MCPHD’s efforts, include:
• The Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and the City of Glendale have utilized the Scoring Tool in their Active Transportation Plans.
• MCDOT used the Equity Models to determine areas with the greatest need for ADA and nonmotorized transportation facilities.
• MCPHD has a permanent appointment to the Maricopa County Association of Governments (MAG) Active Transportation Committee.
• MAG requires agencies to consider public health outcomes in all planning and design applications.

Next Steps
MCPDH continues to collaborate with agencies to integrate and understand the impact of investments on public health concerns. Models will be enhanced to include new datasets, heat factors that might limit activity, and the impacts of micromobility. We recommend you reach out to your Public Health Department and offer them a seat at your table.

Presenter: Phyllis Davis
Agency Affiliation: Kittelson & Associates

Presenter Biographical Statement: [biography]