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CCRPC unveils Health Equity Toolkit and offers technical-assistance pilot to municipalities
Summary
CCRPC staff presented a Health Equity Toolkit developed with the Vermont Department of Health, described inequities in the built environment and transportation, and offered technical assistance and a pilot program for municipalities to integrate equity into planning, bylaws, and project design.
Melanie Needle, Senior Planner with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, presented a Health Equity Toolkit developed in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health and funded through a statewide grant, saying the toolkit is posted on CCRPC’s website and is available to all municipalities.
"Health equity means ensuring that everybody has the opportunity to attain their full health potential, and where no person is disadvantaged in achieving their potential," Needle said, and she outlined three types of inequity—distributional, procedural, and structural—that municipal planning can address. She identified examples in the built environment, including limited housing choice, car-dependent subdivision design, gaps in pedestrian infrastructure, and a lack of community gathering spaces.
Bryan Davis, Senior Transportation Planner, urged municipalities to make walking and biking easier choices through built-environment changes (for example, buffered bike lanes and sidewalks), improved accessibility (ADA trails and audio-assisted interpretation), and universally accessible playgrounds. Davis described a Health Equity Technical Assistance pilot and local examples of implementation, including "Milton on the Move" and a Winooski parents-and-students training.
Needle and Davis said CCRPC staff and VDH staff (Amanda Froeschle was identified as a VDH contact) are available to help municipalities incorporate health equity into town plans, bylaws, transportation and recreation plans, and housing strategies. They recommended tools including adding social-determinant language to plans, conducting health impact assessments during development review, and consulting guidance such as the Enabling Better Places guide and the Guiding Principles for a Just Transition.
Members asked procedural questions: Joss Besse asked whether the work is part of the Unified Planning Work Program; Davis said staff time for health-equity work is allocated within the UPWP but not dedicated to specific projects. Paul Conner asked how CCRPC’s assistance differs from prior VDH work; Davis said the funding supports CCRPC staff and the toolkit while VDH remains a partner.
The presentation concluded with a request that PAC members share local initiatives or needs where CCRPC can provide technical assistance.
