About Healthy Communities in PA Task Force
By Rebecca Wetzler

Join the Healthy Communities Task Forces
The Healthy Communities in PA Task Force meets monthly, the first Tuesday of the month ~2pm Eastern. We invite you to join us! While a small group, we have representatives from healthcare, universities, county, regional, and state planning, and a variety of others who join when possible. Each month we focus on a practical aspect of applying research and best practices to actual planning. For instance, we recently reviewed the State Health Improvement Plan and looked at areas planning concepts were/could be included, robustness of engagement and outreach, etc. We encouraged members to share the websites/ tools/ studies they use in their daily lives and discussed how to share the collected list more broadly. 

Green Infrastructure Discussion
In June, our two co-chairs, Sam Pearson and Rebecca Wetzler presented on the complexity of green infrastructure and the importance of details. For instance, when looking at tree canopy cover and the health benefits to the community, how do you encourage healthy tree growth and maintenance? The replacement ordinance “if you cut a tree, you have to replace it with two” needs phasing language to avoid extra cuttings before the ordinance goes into effect. If there is language around tree trunk girth and trimming maintenance, make sure to include language about what happens to trees less than that girth too. You’re not alone in trying to figure out how to apply these concepts to the reality of planning. Sam and Rebecca asked deep rooted (ha!) questions about how communities can shift trees from being perceived as a nuisance to a public good. How do you keep things equitable for residents who cannot afford root-damaged pipes? How do you stay true to your vision for a community that is thriving ecologically and economically? We hope you’ll join the conversation in your practice and on our monthly calls! Let us know if you’d like a recording of this presentation.

Questions on the Relationship of Planning and Health
Planning and health are closely linked, from John Snow’s initial mapping of cholera cases and nearby wells to the recent Canadian wildfire air quality impacts on Eastern PA. How we plan informs the health of the folks that interface with the area planned, and how we maintain good health informs planning. PA is a fascinating state with so many health challenges and opportunities. During the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, when essential workers were the only ones allowed on the roads, our dairy, poultry, and other farmers faced challenges with longer term product storage and delivery. How do you deliver gallons of milk to school children who aren’t in school? PA was able to work with the farmers to limit the financial damage of the travel restrictions, but what about the school children’s nutrient access? How do you choose which patients to prioritize at an overloaded hospital? Or incentivize workers who might be sick to keep working? How do you set up an emergency shelter for a hurricane and likely flood when folks aren’t supposed to congregate? In the Healthy Communities in PA Task Force, we talk regularly about the social determinants of health. As planners, we know that access to parks and bike paths and communal spaces impacts the health and resilience of a community. So, what data do we have/ need? What are we doing with the information that is available? How do we make sure our planning efforts are helpful to the whole community and that folks are informing the planning process and results in a meaningful way? These questions are discussed and answered at Task Force meetings.