Recent, mounting research shows that chronic disease, the leading causes of death and primary driver of health care costs, cannot be effectively addressed through education or preventative health alone. A physical environment that promotes health—through access to healthy food, opportunities for physical activity, quality housing, transportation options, and safe schools—is an integral part of making our communities healthier. This research and accompanying Healthy Community Plans will serve as a way for the County to begin looking in-depth at the ways the built environment (our streets, parks, and neighborhoods) contribute or detract from the health of the community. Though the creation of a healthy general plan may be unattainable for the County in the short term, a focus on a small yet cohesive part of the county presents an opportunity to affect these changes. Under the direction of the SLO County Health Agency and the Health Commission, we have written Healthy Community Plans for the unincorporated communities of Cayucos and Oceano, California. Both of these plans were greatly informed by their respective communities through input garnered through outreach, interviews, surveys and personal interactions with community members. This project examines the relationship between the built environment and public health, and explores ways planning professionals are beginning to address health issues through infrastructure, land use, creative zoning, and planning strategies that promote health and active living in policy. The planning documents, modeled after health elements currently being included in general plans throughout California, have integrated the fields of planning and public health to provide Cayucos and Oceano an assessment of its residents’ health, a description of the current built environment conditions that may be helping or hindering physical activity and access to nutritious food sources, as well as establish goals, policies and implementation strategies that will set a course of action toward healthier communities.

Background: Obesity affects over 1 billion individuals across the world. In Canada, nearly 1 in 7 children and adolescents are obese. The risk of obesity is heightened for newcomer children due to their adoption of the Western diet and a sedentary lifestyle. While healthcare providers (HCPs) are the first point of contact upon health concerns, little is known about how HCPs approach HAL communication with newcomer families, with the goal of preventing childhood obesity. Objectives: This study aims to understand HCPs’ experiences with newcomer families relating to (1) HAL communication, (2) HAL promotion strategies, and (3) challenges with HAL promotion. Methods: 12 HCPs currently practicing in Hamilton and experienced in working with newcomer families completed 30–60-minute semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes relating to HAL communication approaches, HAL promotion strategies, and challenges with promoting HAL among newcomer families. Results: Three themes emerged for HAL communication: 1) reactive approach, 2) patient-centered and culturally sensitive communication, 3) holistic health discussions. Four themes emerged for HAL promotion strategies: 1) tailored resource recommendations, 2) facilitating connections among newcomers, 3) family-centered approach, 4) referrals to additional support. Five themes emerged for challenges with HAL promotion: 1) time constraints, 2) difficulty to obtain buy-in, 3) limited resources awareness & availability, 4) navigating sensitivity and empathy, 5) ambiguity in role responsibilities. Conclusion: HCPs emphasized the influence of time limitations, limited resource awareness, and newcomer families’ competing priorities on limiting their ability to proactively promote HAL. Analyzing the data through the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) framework revealed the various intersecting determinants of health that make HAL promotion an intricate task. With HCPs expressing reservations about their efficacy in promoting HAL proactively, investigation into collaborative approaches for proactive HAL promotion should be explored. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Obesity affects over 1 billion individuals across the world. In Canada, nearly 1 in 7 children and adolescents are obese. The risk of obesity is heightened for newcomer children due to their adoption of the Western diet and a sedentary lifestyle. While healthcare providers (HCPs) are the first point of contact upon health concerns, little is known about how HCPs communicate and promote the importance of healthy eating and daily physical activity to newcomer families, with the goal of preventing childhood obesity. Using a qualitative thematic analysis approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 HCPs. Their responses revealed that HCPs commonly only discuss health behaviours in response to evident weight concerns, tailor their recommendations to address newcomers’ circumstances, and are hindered by time constraints to discuss health behaviours. Acknowledging the limitations of their role capacity, HCPs advocated for collaborative approaches to proactively promote healthy active living to newcomer children.

With an obesity epidemic of alarming proportions, there is a need for Active Living studies addressing the low-income populations in the state of Mississippi. This study uses behavior observation to examine physical activity patterns in a public park in a low-income neighborhood in West Point, MS. The influence of the built environment on physical activity and health is discussed, as are the implications of this research for designers and planners. Documentation of activity types and demographic comparisons between park users and the town population reveal consistent patterns of physical activity and suggest that the park may pull its users primarily from the surrounding neighborhood. The results suggest that quality behavior observation data may provide designers and planners with the level of context-sensitivity necessary to maximize the benefits of recreation spaces for particular user groups, if such spaces are to encourage physical activity to the degree that physical health is impacted.

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It is easy to overlook the individual features that constitute a community, including types and mix of land use, lot sizes, building type, size and height, setbacks, street and sidewalk widths, parking requirements, and infrastructure, all of which are controlled and regulated by land use development codes, more commonly referred to as zoning. Zoning is the primary means communities employ to control and guide land use and development decisions affecting the physical form of these places. However, zoning is a rigid, legal framework that separates uses and prescribes standards without describing or even considering what development will or should look like. Disenchantment with conventional zoning methods combined with innovative new approaches that address current and emerging issues are now readily available to learn from and adapt. A number of these approaches focus on design and form rather than use alone. The intentions of code reform focus on the creation of better public space, pedestrian friendly streets and communities, mixing uses and reducing parking requirements, all of which can lead to increased physical activity and healthy communities. / Master of Landscape Architecture