ProGov21 Policy Library

Community Gardens on Private Property as a By-Right or Permitted Use

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Sustainable Development Code

Policy Areas Community Development, Democracy & Governance, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces

Local governments can facilitate community gardens by passing ordinances that classify them as permitted or by-right uses on private property. This memo explains how permitting community gardens on private land can promote healthy lifestyles, improve access to fresh produce, encourage...

Minimum Width and Buffer Requirements for Sidewalks

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Sustainable Development Code

Policy Areas Community Development, Democracy & Governance, Economic Justice, Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility

Local governments should update zoning codes to mandate sidewalk vegetation buffer zones that separate pedestrians from vehicles. This policy memo highlights how these buffers improve pedestrian mobility and safety, reduce stormwater management costs, increase access to public transportation,...

Local Reproductive Freedom Index: Evaluating US Cities 2019

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source National Institute for Reproductive Health

Policy Areas Civil Rights, Democracy & Governance, Health

This report evaluates health policies in 50 cities across the United States in 2019. It assigns each city a score ranging from zero to five stars based on a range of indicators related to reproductive health, rights, and justice. This report also discusses the "Model City," a realistic...

PlaceMakers Pandemic Response Compendium

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level Other Boards and Agencies

State(s) All States

Source PlaceMakers

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Health

This collaborative document outlines various pandemic responses to support public health and economic recovery today. In addition to this, the document outlines the categories, methods, key points, and examples for each pandemic response....

Common Mistakes in Drafting Smokefree Indoor Air Ordinances

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2004

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Americans For Nonsmokers's Rights

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Community Development, Public Spaces, Health

This report serves as a resource for developing smoke-free indoor air laws and is a companion piece to the Prohibition of Smoking in all Workplaces and Public Places model ordinance. The report outlines common errors to avoid while developing and drafting an ordinance that prohibits...

School Meals Support Ohio Student Health and Learning

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2024

Level State

State(s) All States, Ohio

Source Children's Defense Fund

Policy Areas Children & Families, Education, Food

One in six Ohio children face food insecurity, yet many do not qualify for subsidized school meals. School meals strongly influence academic success as well-nourished children perform better in school and are healthier overall. This factsheet proposes solutions like the "Healthy School...

Chronic Disease Prevention Success Stories from Big Cities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2015

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source National Association of County & City Health Officials

Policy Areas Food, Health

This report features case studies of big cities successfully preventing and/or combating chronic disease. Strategies include improving nutrition by increasing access to healthy food and limiting sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, increasing physical activity through promoting healthy...

Local Policies for Environmental Justice: A National Scan

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source The New School

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health

While local zoning codes and land use policies historically have been tools for segregating people and concentrating pollution in low-income communities and communities of color, community-based advocacy can transform these same tools into means for addressing cumulative burdens borne...

Providing Contraceptive Implants at Time of Medication Abortion: A Case Study from Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level State

State(s) Massachusetts

Source National Institute for Reproductive Health

Policy Areas Health

Providing Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) during medication abortion visits can reduce the number of visits a patient is required to obtain LARC, thereby reducing barriers to access. This report describes the steps taken by the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts...

Caring for Denver - Ballot Title

Type Ballot Measure

Year 2018

Level City or Town

State(s) Colorado

Source City and County of Denver

Policy Areas Health, Housing, Public Safety

This ballot measure addressed the need for increased funding for mental health services, suicide prevention, and substance abuse programs in Denver. The city proposed increasing sales and use taxes by $45 million annually to fund these services. The initiative is meant to reduce homelessness,...

The Intersection of Trees and Safety

Type Article

Year 2007

Level City or Town

State(s) California

Source Elizabeth Macdonald, Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility

Local planners often restrict tree planting near intersections due to safety concerns, which may not be justified. This article recommends that cities should not restrict sidewalk street trees unless it can be shown unequivocally that they create unsafe environments. This issue relates...

Community Responder Programs: Understanding the Call Triage Process

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source Council of State Governments

Policy Areas Health, Public Safety

This policy brief highlights the different ways call triage can be used to inform and dispatch community responders. While most jurisdictions will ultimately create multiple opportunities for calls to be triaged and directed to community responders, many will likely begin with one...

Meeting the Health Equity Imperative

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town

State(s) All States

Source Mayor Innovation Project

Policy Areas Community Development, Economic Justice, Health

Healthy living in American cities is a luxury inequitably distributed to residents. Access to quality food, public natural spaces, and the impact of pollutants are restricted to those who cannot afford to pay. This report suggests mayors must rethink their policy approach to be more...

Equitable Solutions for Pedestrian Safety

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town, National

State(s) All States

Source Smart Growth America

Policy Areas Public Safety, Transportation & Mobility

Pedestrian fatalities are rising nationwide, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities, including lower-income neighborhoods and people of color. To address this, cities should prioritize immediate safety improvements on dangerous streets while adopting long-term systemic...

NIRH Earned Media Toolkit

Type Article

Year 2022

Level City or Town, County, National, Other Boards and Agencies, School Board, School District, State

State(s) All States

Source National Institute for Reproductive Health

Policy Areas Health

This resource provides guidance to reproductive health and justice advocates as they engage with "earned media," or publicity obtained through unpaid means such as op-eds, news story quotes and press conferences. It discusses best practices for conducting outreach, preparing for media...

On the Margins: Economic Security for Women of Color Through the Coronavirus Crisis and Beyond

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2020

Level City or Town, County, State, National

State(s) All States

Source Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Civil Rights

Both gender and racial wealth gaps caused by policies and practices leave women of color without financial reserves to weather a job loss or economic crisis. CWWG’s critical report reviews the recent federal coronavirus relief packages and assesses the benefits, shortcomings, and...

Reducing & Preventing Violent Crime

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level National

State(s) All States

Source Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Policy Areas Public Safety

Despite a steady decline in violent crime over the last 30 years, its impact continues to persist in American communities. This report calls for forward-thinking approaches, including adopting a public health perspective to target violence, addressing root causes like poverty and...

Planning for Resilient Early Care and Education: Addressing Climate Vulnerabilities

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2022

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States, California

Source Center for Cities and Schools

Policy Areas Children & Families, Education, Environment & Natural Resources

Brain development in children under the age of 5 is highly susceptible to environmental stressors like high temperatures and poor air quality. As climate change worsen, early care and education (ECE) facilities must be equipped to addrss this issue. This report outlines six actions...

Maximizing the Economic Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing While Mitigating the Risk to Human Health in Colorado

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level State

State(s) Colorado

Source Journal of Science Policy & Governance

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Energy, Public Safety, Health

This paper highlights the state of Colorado and the exponential growth of fracking in the state over the last two decades. The growth of fracking has benefitted the economy of the state and employs hundreds of thousands of residents, but fracking presents serious environmental and...

Setting the Record Straight on the RHA

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2019

Level State

State(s) New York

Source National Institute for Reproductive Health

Policy Areas Health

On January 22, 2019, New York enacted the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) decriminalizing and safeguarding abortion and ensuring greater access to reproductive health care. This policy brief clears up common misconceptions regarding the RHA. Contrary to misinformation circulating about...

Essential and Excluded: How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Impacting Immigrant Families

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2021

Level State, National

State(s) Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania

Source The Center for Popular Democracy

Policy Areas Economic Justice, Health

Organizers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina conducted interviews with over 900 Latinx immigrants (including nearly 400 undocumented community members) about the important issues facing immigrant communities during the COVID-19 pandemic....

Model Ordinance Prohibiting Smoking in Outdoor Places of Employment and Public Places

Type Ordinance or Resolution

Year 2012

Level City or Town, County

State(s) All States

Source Americans For Nonsmokers' Rights

Policy Areas Environment & Natural Resources, Health, Public Spaces

This model ordinance prohibits smoking in outdoor places of employment, outdoor public places, outdoor residential facilities, and city or county owned property. It defines the enforcement of the law, penalties for violating the law's terms, and posting requirements for "no smoking"...

Nothing About Us Without Us: Can Area-Based Social Indices Effectively Advance Health Equity?

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2021

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) California

Source California Pan-Ethnic Health Network

Policy Areas Health

Policymakers can use area-based social indices to target interventions and mitigate health disparities for communities of color, LGBTQ+, and individuals with disabilities. Drawing from an analysis of California's COVID-19 response strategies, which relied on social indices to address...

Phoenix Plants Hedges to Reduce Kids' Exposure to Pollution

Type Fact Sheet or Infographic

Year 2021

Level State

State(s) Arizona

Source Mayor Innovation Project

Policy Areas Children & Families, Community Development, Health

Dedicated to limiting students' exposure to pollutants, Phoenix City staff, school faculty, and Arizona State University researchers planted trees and shrubs with K-8 students on unused school playgrounds. This project is poised to benefit more than 121,000 children under the age...

Health in All Policies: Experiences from Local Health Departments

Type Policy Brief or Report

Year 2017

Level City or Town, County, State

State(s) All States

Source National Association of County & City Health Officials

Policy Areas Health

Health disparities are influenced by many issues and cannot be solved by solutions implemented by a single sector. Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a public health framework that integrates public health into all areas of government by routinizing collaboration across government agencies...

ProGov21 Policy Library

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