August 11, 2010
Increasing the percentage of adults and children who engage in moderate and vigorous physical activity. Increasing the number of city officials, employees and design consultants who are certified in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. Increasing the percentage of adults and children who consume five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
In the future, these and other measurements will serve as indicators of an active, safe and healthy Omaha as a new community health document moves from recommendation to implementation.
Feedback is sought on the community health section of Environment Omaha, a policy development initiative under way that’s creating a new environmental vision for the city. The initiative covers five areas – the natural environment, urban form and transportation, building construction, resource conservation and community health.
The community health document was developed by the Environment Omaha Community Health Advisory Committee, which is chaired by Mikki Frost, administrative director for healthier communities at Alegent Health. The committee, a group of 32 volunteers representing a diversity of professions and perspectives, included suggestions from the public in developing the content. The document was then reviewed by the Environment Omaha Core and Working Committees. It begins with an overall vision statement:
Omaha will have an active, safe and healthy living environment that supports a high quality of life for all people. This vision will be realized by:
- Leadership
- Engaging or educating the community
- Implementing sustainability policies
- Establishing public and private partnerships
- Prioritizing resources to support and sustain community health
The vision of an active, safe and healthy Omaha will require improving and increasing:
- Neighborhoods with mixed uses and connectivity to destinations
- Parks, open spaces and recreational facilities
- Access to and availability of healthy foods
- Access to health services and economic opportunities
- Walking, biking and public transit
- High quality, healthy and affordable housing
- Safe and healthy neighborhoods and public spaces
- Environmental quality
Objectives and strategies are then laid out in three areas: Active Omaha, Safe Omaha and Healthy Omaha.
Members of the public can post their questions and comments about the document on www.environmentomaha.com/discussion.
Funding for Environment Omaha, which is receiving significant city staff and resource support, is provided by grants from the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency and the City of Omaha’s Stormwater Management Plan Program Grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Omaha by Design serves as the project manager. For more information, call 402.554.4010 or email info@omahabydesign.org.