University of Wisconsin–Madison
Progressive Local Government
For the 21st Century

ProGov21 Policy Library

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Year
Fair Play: Advancing Health Equity through Shared Use
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2015
Level County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Public Spaces, Health
Over the past several years, shared use has emerged as a promising strategy for creating opportunities for physical activity, particularly in places where recreational space is scarce. Too many cities and towns lack the resources residents need to be active, and finding safe, accessible,...
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Justice on the Menu: Legal & Policy Strategies to Address Structural Discrimination in the US Food System
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2024
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health
Racism is evident across many dimensions of the US food system, from low pay and poor working conditions for farm and food workers to unjust racial and ethnic disparities in rates of hunger, food insecurity, and diet-related diseases. This report outlines considerations to advance...
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Confronting Misinformation: Opportunities for Law and Policy Innovation
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2024
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health
Public health and trust in public health systems in undermined when inaccurate information spreads. This report provides evidence-based strategies that help public health officials examine the effects of policies related to mis- and disinformation. Best practices include promoting...
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Complete Parks Playbook
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States, Pennsylvania, Texas
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Education, Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Public Spaces
Parks enhance communities by promoting physical, mental, and social health. This guide outlines the 'complete parks approach', which helps local governments promote parks improvements by engaging communities who have historically been overlooked during parks planning discussions,...
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Assessing & Addressing Preemption: A Toolkit for Local Policy Campaigns
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Health
Local policy is more likely to generate lasting change if it responds to the needs and priorities of local residents and is grounded in their lived experiences. However, some state legislatures are using the legal doctrine of preemption to block local policy innovations. This report...
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Leveraging Nonprofit Hospital “Community Benefits” to Create Healthier Communities
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2015
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Community Development, Health
Nonprofit hospitals can be powerful allies in helping to create healthier communities. In order to qualify for their nonprofit federal tax exemption, hospitals must be organized and operated for a “charitable purpose” or provide benefits to the community. These benefits are guided...
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Status of Local Authority to Regulate Days & Hours of Alcohol Sales
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health
Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with many health and societal problems including chronic diseases, injuries, and violence. Limiting the days and hours of sale is one strategy that can prevent excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. This guide identifies state...
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Healthy Retail Playbook
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Food
In many places, residents lack access to fruits and vegetables, but can easily find tobacco and alcohol. This playbook presents 15 strategies to achieve a healthy retail environment—one where it is easier to make healthy choices than unhealthy ones. In particular, these strategies...
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Homegrown: Implementing State & Local Preferences for Food Procurement
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Finance & Procurement, Food
Government agencies often procure goods, including food, for use by employees, students, and community members. Generally, when a state or local agency purchases food, the agency uses a competitive process to find the supplier who can provide the lowest-priced goods. However, when...
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Consequences of Preemption for Public Health & Equity
Type Act or Session Law
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Health
Preemption laws often hinder local governments from addressing critical public health, equity, and economic challenges. The report explores how "new preemption" disproportionately impacts marginalized communities by undermining local efforts to establish policies such as paid sick...
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Healthy Food Zone Model Ordinance
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2009
Level City or Town
State(s) -
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Education, Food
This model law creates a healthy food zone around schools by regulating the location of fast food restaurants and mobile food vendors so that children are presented with healthy food options....
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Green for Greens: Finding Public Funding for Healthy Food Retail
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2012
Level County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Food, Economic Justice, Civil Rights
For millions of Americans, accessing healthy food is no easy matter. In low-income communities, liquor stores and gas stations proliferate, while farmers' markets are hard to find. Nationally, 11.5 million low-income people live in low-income areas where the nearest supermarket is...
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Understanding Healthy Procurement: Using Government’s Purchasing Power to Increase Access to Healthy Food
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2012
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Finance & Procurement, Food
State and local governments can improve residents’ diets by exercising their power to purchase goods and services. By adopting healthy procurement policies, governments can improve public health, lower overall costs, and provide leadership for the private sector to do the same....
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Findings for Model Healthy Food Zone Ordinance
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2009
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Community Development, Food, Public Spaces
This report explains how a "Healthy Food Zone Ordinance" can regulate the proximity of fast food restaurants and convenience stores to schools, parks, childcare centers, or other locations frequented by children. It also includes a model ordinance which prohibits fast food restaurants...
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Why Adopt an Obesity Prevention Resolution?
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2010
Level County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Food, Public Spaces
Passing a local resolution is one way for communities to promote obesity prevention policies. This report outlines NPLAN's model obesity prevention resolution, explaining how it works and the specific policies it promotes. It focuses on ten areas of improvement: (1) the built environment,...
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A Guide to Proactive Rental Inspection Programs
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2014
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Public Safety, Public Spaces
Localities should maintain code enforcement programs to improve both housing conditions and residents' wellbeing. This guide outlines the benefits of proactive rental inspection programs and provides an overview of program design. It recommends involving diverse stakeholders and community...
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Supporting Equitable Community Engagement: A Resource for State Health Departments
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2024
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health
Public health departments erode trust when they make policy and program decisions without meaningfully engaging the communities most affected by them. This report highlights how community engagement improves health behaviors and health service access and provides recommendations....
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Understanding Paid Sick Leave & Preventive Cancer Screening
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2023
Level City or Town, National, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Health
The lack of paid sick leave prevents many workers, especially those in low-wage and part-time positions, from accessing preventive healthcare services like cancer screenings. This fact sheet emphasizes the role of paid sick leave in improving public health by enabling workers to attend...
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Understanding the Connections Between Children's Mental Health & Housing: An Introductory Guide to Housing Policy Options that Support Children
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2023
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Housing
With recent declarations of a national emergency in child and adolescent health by several national health care organizations, communities and practitioners are looking for practical solutions to improve mental health outcomes for all children. This report identifies how housing affects...
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Equitable Enforcement to Achieve Health Equity: An Introductory Guide for Policymakers and Practitioners
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Health
Oftentimes the laws designed to keep people safe and healthy are not enforced equitably and do not protect the health and well-being of underserved communities. To mitigate this problem, this report poses a series of questions that policymakers, advocates, and enforcement officials...
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Getting to Grocery: Tools for Attracting Healthy Food Retail to Underserved Neighborhoods
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2012
Level County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Food, Economic Justice, Civil Rights
Bringing a grocery store into an underserved neighborhood not only makes fresh produce and other healthy food more accessible, it can provide livingwage jobs, raise the value of surrounding property, and anchor and attract additional businesses to the neighborhood. A wide range of...
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Tobacco Retailer Licensing Playbook
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2015
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health
Tobacco retailer licensing (TRL) is a policy requiring all stores that sell tobacco to obtain a special license for the privilege of selling these products to consumers. TRL can be used to implement and enforce a variety of policies aimed at reducing access and exposure to tobacco...
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Reach for More: Healthier Beverage Vending for Government Agencies in Rural Settings
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2014
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Finance & Procurement, Food
Rural communities face physical, geographic, social, and economic barriers to good health. These include: limited access to healthy foods, few exercise facilities, lack of public transportation, lack of nutrition education, and more. As a result, older adults in rural areas tend to...
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Model Health in All Policies Ordinance
Type Ordinance or Resolution
Year 2015
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health
This model ordinance is designed to help a jurisdiction implement "Health in All Policies," a collaborative approach to improving health by incorporating health, sustainability, and equity considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas. The ordinance formally...
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The Planner’s Playbook A Community-Centered Approach to Improving Health & Equity
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2024
Level City or Town, County, State
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Community Development, Health
The ways in which planners and policymakers have planned our communities have played a central role in creating and perpetuating discrimination that has contributed to growing health inequities along racial lines. This playbook identifies the need for equity in planning processes...
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