city planning
Publication Date: 12/07/2009
The Problem:
The shortage of adequate, affordable housing can create pockets of concentrated poverty, exposing children and others to lead and other pathogens, which affects the health of children and families. The Urban Institute. Research on Record: Housing. Also, housing expenses draw resources away from health expenditures (e.g., nutritious food and healthcare). CDC and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Healthy Housing Reference Manual.
The Law:
States and localities have attempted to address the inadequate supply of affordable housing and its associated harms by facilitating the creation of mixed income housing developments through a number of legal mechanisms. Mixed-income housing developments provide affordable housing for low-income residents in rental units that are interspersed with market-rate housing. Laws promote mixed-income housing developments by subsidizing the construction of multi-family residences and reserving a portion of units for low-income residents at affordable prices. Hope VI is federal housing program that funds mixed-income housing fully or in partnership with private developers. HOPE VI Revitalization Notices of Funds Availability; 24 C.F.R. 941.600. Some municipalities have used zoning law to increase mixed income housing. For example, Sacramento, Calif. ( Sacramento City Code § 17.190.030) and Burlington, Vt. (Burlington Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance §§ 9.1-9.2)) have inclusionary zoning requirements that require that a certain percentage of new housing units are affordable to low-income residents.
The Evidence:
In a Community Guide review, Anderson et. al. could not find any qualifying studies that measured the impact of mixed-income housing developments in creating and maintaining safe and affordable housing for low-income residents. Anderson LM, et al. Providing affordable family housing and reducing residential segregation by income: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2003;24(3S):S47-67. As a result, the reviewers could not ascertain the effectiveness of mixed-income housing developments as a public health intervention.
The Bottom Line:
In the judgment of a Community Guide expert panel, there is currently insufficient evidence to establish the effectiveness of mixed income housing as a public health intervention.
Publication Date: 12/07/2009
The Problem:
The leading cause of death for people age 34 and below in the United States is motor vehicle crashes. CDC: Motor Vehicle Safety Factsheet. Crashes occur due to impaired driving, inexperience, faulty vision and general recklessness. In congested areas, pedestrian safety is major public health concern. Approximately 700 children are killed each year by motor vehicles while walking. CDC: Reducing Childhood Pedestrian Injuries: Summary of a Multidisciplinary Conference.
The Law:
Traffic laws are designed to minimize motor vehicle crashes and to improve driver, passenger and pedestrian safety. Enforcing traffic laws can be difficult. Red light cameras take a picture of any car that fails to appropriately abide by a red light thereby endangering other drivers and pedestrians. The pictures are used to issue traffic citations, which often include sizable mandatory fines ($446 in Los Angeles: Photo Red Light Program). Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have red light programs operating somewhere within their jurisdiction authorized either through state or local law. Governors’ Highway Association: Red Light Cameras. For an example of a state law authorizing the use of red light cameras, see RI Stat 42-28.9
The Evidence:
In a systematic review, Aeron-Thomas and Hess reviewed ten studies measuring the impact of red light cameras on motor vehicle crashes. Aeron-Thomas A, Hess, S. Red-Light Cameras for the Prevention of Road Traffic Crashes. The Cochrane Library. 2009, v.2. The reviewers found that the studies generally identified an association between the red light cameras and reductions in fatal crashes. However, weaker and often statistically insignificant relationships were observed between the cameras and overall crashes. On this basis, the reviewers concluded that there was sufficient evidence to establish the effectiveness of red light cameras as an intervention aimed at reducing fatal crashes, but that additional research is needed to validate the impact of these cameras on overall crashes and reckless driving generally.
The Bottom Line:
In the judgment of a Cochrane Collaborative expert panel, sufficient evidence exists to support red light cameras as an effective public health intervention to reduce motor vehicle crash fatalities, but there is insufficient evidence to validate the effectiveness of the cameras in reducing overall crashes.
Additional Information:
The Governors’ Highway Association provides online access to a table indicating in which states red light cameras are authorized or prohibited under state law.
Additional Resources: Governors’ Highway Association
The project assesses the extent of the relationship between MUZ comprehensiveness (as gleaned from municipal land use ordinances) and measures of walkability. The primary hypothesis is, controlling for city population size and SES, the higher MUZ comprehensiveness (i.e. adherence to the American Planning Association’s model MUZ), the higher its walkability. The unit of analysis is approximately 180 Mixed Land Use Zones in 25 California cities (with populations of 50,000 or above).
Grant Number: 67145
Funding Date: Tue, 12/01/2009
Researching Institution: HBSA: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
Researcher: Sue Thomas, M.Ed., Ph.D., Carol L. Cannon, M.A
This project will study six Los Angeles neighborhoods to assess the extent to which land-use regulation affects the crime in communities. The study will explore the relationship between crime, the built environment and land-use regulation. By empirically measuring the effect of land use regulation on the built environment and crime, the project will provide policymakers with actionable evidence on ways to reduce crime and improve public health by shaping the built environment through land-use laws and regulation. Deliverables for this project include academic peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations, final report to be published by RAND, and a practitioner-friendly Research Brief to be submitted to the American Planning Association’s Planning magazine.
Grant Number: 67146
Funding Date: Tue, 12/01/2009
Researching Institution: RAND Corporation, University of Pennsylvania
Researcher: James Anderson, J.D., John MacDonald, Ph.D.
Publication Date: 12/07/2009
The Problem:
The shortage of adequate, affordable housing is a major public health problem, which draws family resources away from other health expenditures, such as nutritious food and healthcare, and exposes children and others to lead and other pathogens. CDC and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Healthy housing reference manual. The scarcity of affordable housing also creates pockets of concentrated poverty, which deleteriously affects the health of children and their families. The Urban Institute. Research on Record: Housing.
The Law:
One way that governments have attempted to address the shortage of affordably priced housing is through programs that subsidize housing costs. Tenant-based rental assistance programs subsidize the cost of housing for low-income households in the private housing market. One of the more prominent examples is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 program, which state and local governments administer. This program is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1437(f) and regulated by 24 C.F.R. 982. Three other well known examples are the Housing Allowance Experiment, the Gautreaux program, and the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing program.
The Evidence:
Anderson et al. reviewed 12 studies that assessed the effectiveness of tenant-based rental assistance programs as a public health intervention aimed at improving household safety and reducing exposure to crime. Anderson LM, et al. Providing affordable family housing and reducing residential segregation by income: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2003;24(3S):S47-67. The 12 studies focused specifically on the four federal housing efforts mentioned above. The review found tenant-based rental assistance to be effective in increasing household safety and reducing exposure to crime. According to the reviewers, the underlying studies also provide evidence that these programs improve housing quality, reduce behavioral problems among children at home and in school, and improve the physical and psychological health of parental figures.
The Bottom Line:
In the judgment of a Community Guide expert panel, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that tenant-based rental assistance programs (or affordable housing rental vouchers programs) are effective public health interventions aimed at addressing the shortage of affordable housing and its associated risks to health.
© RWJF 2012
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Public Health Law Research is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is housed at the Temple University Beasley School of Law.