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Underhill, Kenneth Blair

Planning and land use decisions have public health consequences. Community health is affected by development plans and projects, and there is no global framework to evaluate these health impacts. There are several assessment methods that are being developed and used in recent decades. One method is health impact assessment (HIA). HIAs evaluate health determinants, such as housing affordability and walkability, and the potential positive and negative health outcomes associated with changes in these health determinants. The output of an HIA is analysis is the net impact of a plan and mitigation recommendations. This report was undertaken with support from Metro Vancouver planning staff to provide further research on the topic of HIAs and how they are being undertaken in the region. The research consists of a literature review on health assessment frameworks, a case study of seven North American HIAs, and an HIA questionnaire to local government staff in the Metro Vancouver region. This report addresses the state of health assessment in Metro Vancouver. It answers the following questions: • What are the driving forces and barriers behind undertaking HIAs? • To what extent are HIAs being conducted in Metro Vancouver? • What can be changed to increase implementation of HIAs?

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University of British Columbia. SCARP Graduating Projects

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0305825

Applied Science, Faculty of; Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of

Graduate

DSpace