Protecting health using an environmental impact assessment: a case study of San Francisco land use decisionmaking.
Laws and regulations for an environmental impact assessment enable a health impact assessment whenever physical changes in the environment may significantly affect health. In this case study, I describe 2 instances in which a local public health agency used the procedural requirements for an environmental impact assessment to account for societal-level health determinants that are not traditionally evaluated in land-use decisions. These examples show that a public health critique can contribute both to the scope of analysis in an environmental impact assessment and to substantive changes in land-use decisions. I have evaluated this health appraisal approach as a form of a health impact assessment and will make recommendations for law, research, and practice that support its technical, cultural, and political feasibility.
Bhatia
Rajiv
R
San Francisco Department of Public Health and the University of California, San Francisco, USA. rajiv.bhatia@sfdph.org
D002958:City Planning / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000458:organization & administration; D003256:Community Participation; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004779:Environment Design / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004782:Environmental Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006798:Housing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D011050:Policy Making; D011635:Public Health Administration; D011640:Public Policy; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012495:San Francisco; D012962:Sociology, Medical; D014504:Urban Health / Q000592:standards*