HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT
of the ATLANTA BELTLINE
Researchers from two Atlanta institutions have come together to conduct an unprecedented assessment of the Atlanta BeltLine's health impacts. Georgia Tech's Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD), headed by transportation expert Dr. Catherine Ross, is teaming up with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health, led by Assistant Director for Science Dr. Andrew Dannenberg, to perform a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the Atlanta BeltLine project. The assessment, funded through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is one of the first HIAs performed in the United States to evaluate a major transportation/land use project that has the potential for long-term, widespread redevelopment impact.
The goal of an HIA is to promote healthy communities and lifestyles by making potential health impacts part of a project's decision making process. The BeltLine HIA will identify both positive and negative impacts and foster dialogue between people who will use the BeltLine, live near the BeltLine, and those who are designing and creating the BeltLine.
Researchers will be using a comprehensive definition of “health” adopted by the World Health Organization that states that health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.” The BeltLine HIA will be measuring a long list of potential health impacts that include environmental issues, equity, mental health, safety, physical activity, and accessibility.
Research began in 2005 and was completed in 2007.
Read the full Atlanta BeltLine HIA report.
Read the priority recommendations from the BeltLine HIA report.
