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Place Matters Health Equity Report Presented at Health Action Partnership Annual Meeting
One of the highlights of the Health Action Partnership Annual Meeting on October 31st was a presentation by Dr. Monica Baskin of UAB’s Division of Preventive Medicine and the Jefferson County Place Matters team on the recently released report “Place Matters for Health in Jefferson County, Alabama”. Dr. Baskin addressed critical health equity issues in our community, the history that shaped them, and present-day challenges and opportunities around building a more equitable Jefferson County together. We are excited for the opportunity for the Health Action Partnership to work with the Jefferson County Place Matters Team ... continue reading »
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National award shows off best of Railroad Park
Congratulations to Birmingham’s Railroad Park, honored in October with the national Open Space Award from the Urban Land Institute. The award, which comes with a $10,000 cash prize, is designed to highlight public open spaces that spur what ULI describes as regeneration and transformation in the surrounding community. That’s a great way to say exactly what Railroad Park has done in its two years of existence. What was once 19 acres of wasted space along the railroad tracks in Birmingham’s city center has become a gathering place for people to walk, run, play games or picnic. The surrounding area also has been transformed, with a new baseball ... continue reading »
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Five smoke-free cities and why this matters
Since 2011, five cities in Jefferson County have advanced comprehensive protections against secondhand smoke exposure in all worksites, restaurants and bars. That covers 43 percent of the county and the largest city in the state — Birmingham (212,000 people), Midfield (5,365), Vestavia Hills (34,033), Fultondale (8,380) and Bessemer (27,456). At an event to celebrate this achievement, Birmingham City Council member Johnathan Austin explained why this matters to him: “As chairman of the public safety, my number one charge is for the health and safety of all the citizens of Birmingham. Looking at something as comprehensive as this w ... continue reading »
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What Is a Greenway?
You’ve probably heard the term “greenway” used a lot recently. Simply put, a greenway is open space set aside to connect people and places. Most greenways contain paved or unpaved walking and biking trails, which help improve a community’s activity levels and connect people to the places they need to go. Greenways can also help reduce flooding in floodplain areas, raise property values and provide natural habitats for plants and wildlife. In short, greenways are important to our community’s overall quality of life. In Birmingham, a good example of a greenway is Lakeshore Trail. Meandering alongside Shades Creek, this greenway offers walkers, ... continue reading »
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The Magic City Leads on ‘Complete Streets’
Birmingham’s Complete Street policy, adopted in 2011 through a resolution, is recognized as one of the nation’s leading examples of safe, smart transportation policy according to a new nationwide analysis conducted by the National Complete Streets Coalition. The annual report, which rates every Complete Streets policy across the country on a numerical basis according to best practices criteria, highlights Birmingham’s resolution as being especially strong in the area of accommodating for all users and modes. “All across the country we’re seeing more and more communities embrace a new understanding of their streets and roadways,” says National ... continue reading »
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Roadmap to Health
Jefferson County is the first county in Alabama to complete an assessment of its local public health system. The assessment results indicate that Jefferson County has a solid public health infrastructure and is able to address the essential public health services. However, there are some gaps and several significant opportunities to improve performance of the essential services by Jefferson County’s public health system. We will continue to engage partners in looking at data on community health status, forthcoming events that may affect the health of the public, and the local public health system as a whole. Partners have developed goals to b ... continue reading »