Case Study 5 - Christchurch, New Zealand
The field of health impact assessments (HIAs) is relatively new in the United States. However, the use of HIAs as a practical means to bring public health evidence into planning and policy making is increasing. A number of community groups and policymakers in the United States are now using HIAs to address a wide range of issues, including land use and transportation, housing policies, labor standards, natural resource extraction, education and economic policies. Such assessments continue to show great promise as a practical tool to build healthier communities across the country.
Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch, New Zealand, like many cities around the world, is seeing fast growth and wrestling with how to manage it. Regional health officials asked the Christchurch City Council to conduct an HIA to assess which approach the community should pursue for further development: “concentration", that is, construction in the center city and close-in suburbs; or “business as usual” - continued outward expansion.
Christchurch’s HIA focused on key determinants of health agreed on by participants in the planning process—namely, air and water cleanliness, social connection, housing quality and affordability and transportation efficiency. The HIA also assessed ways to better engage the Māori, an indigenous New Zealand people, in the planning process and managed to facilitate greater participation by the Māori.
Among other things, the HIA found that promotion of public transit would not only contribute to cleaner air but also create broader benefits that would ripple through the city. “High levels of car use not only decrease physical activity but also contribute to air pollution causing asthma, other respiratory disease and exacerbation of cardiovascular disease,” the HIA pointed out. “Cars create noise pollution and generate morbidity and mortality from traffic accidents. On a bigger scale, car use contributes to global warming and climate change.”
Because of the HIA, health considerations have become a formal part of Christchurch’s development strategy, and health outcomes have become a focus for the community. With a relatively modest budget, the HIA influenced policy in all five of its designated key areas.
Read the HIA report here.
