Riverside County is one of the fastest growing counties in the Country and is expected to grow by over half a million people by 2040. As a national leader in healthy communities, Riverside County wanted a tool for city and county staff planners, developers, and community groups to assess the healthfulness of a proposed development. As a response, Riverside County hired R+A to create The Healthy Development Checklist. R+A researched evidence-based practices across the United States, conducted interviews with professionals working across the fields of urban planning and public health, and developed a custom healthy development review checklist that supports the principles of health and equity. The checklist will be applied to new development across the region, but can also be used to by city officials, decision makers, and community-based organization to help guide the development of neighborhoods that promote physical and mental health, encourage community engagement, and improved quality of life for all.
 

As part of the project, R+A is also preparing a three-hour curriculum to train Inland Empire planners and also other stakeholders on how to use the checklist and how to incorporate health and equity into their work.

Client: Riverside University Health System

Timeframe: 2016 - 2018

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