HumPAL’s committees assist staff with the direction and implementation of projects such as workshops and reports. They serve as ad-hoc committees for specific projects or tasks as needed and have included to date:
Data & Research: This committee identifies needs and gaps in available information resources and supports related HumPAL projects. This team, led by County Public Health Officer Ann Lindsay, has been developing a list of measurable and trackable ‘indicators’ of health as influenced by the built environment to assess the long-term changes in public health as influenced by changes in the built environment. This effort proved integral to the success of a recent Health Impact Assessment of the County’s General Plan Update Alternatives. The committee worked tirelessly in a relatively short timeframe to identify indicators and research volumes of scientific data and sources. Previously, this committee also worked with HSU’s GIS department to map student households within a two-mile radius of a neighborhood school to estimate the number of children who may be able to travel to school using active transportation modes for Arcata’s Safe Routes to School efforts.
Policy: The Policy Committee identifies areas in which decision-makers can incorporate active transportation and active living by design efforts into policies that guide development and retrofit of our built environment. The committee organized a very successful two-day Healthy Design Policy Charrette in 2007 where participants learned about the integration of health and community/transportation planning. Multi-disciplinary groups drafted policy on land use, transportation, access to goods and services, and safety issues so that jurisdictions would have policy ready to go into their general plans or other policy documents. The Committee gave input to regards to the County’s General Plan Update process.
Education & Outreach: This Committee has been involved in convening discussions about the potential for development of a ped/bike safety education campaign, in planning workshops that showcase Healthy Design in Humboldt County, organizing Walkability Audits, and providing guidance to HumPAL’s Safe Routes to School efforts.