A data framework to create health equity and inclusive public spaces

Place shapes health

For many communities, living in a certain neighborhood can shorten one’s life expectancy by up to 20 to 30 years due to inequities rooted in structural racism and longtime disinvestment in public spaces. Despite the growing evidence connecting place and health, few resources exist to help planners, policymakers, and communities design, fund, and operate public spaces that support individual and community well-being. 

Gehl’s Inclusive Healthy Places Framework offers a comprehensive library of tools and resources to set and measure health equity in communities. The Framework translates big-picture goals into actionable steps and creates a shared language for practitioners in urbanism and public health. Whether organizing a community program, facilitating a multi-party engagement meeting, or collecting data to measure a project’s impact, the Framework supports project development with guiding principles, drivers, indicators, and suggested metrics. 

Gehl and RWJF supported four US-based organizations to test how the Framework could guide community-based projects. This collaboration has built recognition between project groups, with the Framework playing a key role in facilitating a mindset shift amongst practitioners that prioritize the health and inclusivity of their communities.