title: Organizing for healthy communities: a report from public housing in Los Angeles.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Public health outcomes in public housing communities deserve and require more attention. Recent work in Los Angeles demonstrates a model for contributing to improved health outcomes in public housing communities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article describes community organizing and coalition-building efforts focused on community health issues in public housing, and documents outcomes and lessons learned from resident-led work in the Los Angeles Human Right to Housing Collective.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our team used a case study of the practice of community organizing, coalition building, resident engagement, advocacy, health impact assessment, and a human rights framework.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results include successes that promote individual and community health in public housing communities in Los Angeles, including public housing preservation, improved maintenance procedures, and increased tenant participation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Community organizing and resident-driven projects are fundamental to improving community health in public housing communities; it is necessary for decision makers to deeply engage with organized residents and incorporate their recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of Southern California, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dahmann
authors.forename: Becky
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dennison
mesh_terms: D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D006265:Health Care Coalitions / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D011638:Public Housing