Neighborhood Equity
“An active lifestyle is nearly impossible when parks are not nearby, sidewalks do not connect, and safety is an overriding issue.”
– David K. Jones, PhD (2024).
Ripples of Hope in the Mississippi Delta: Charting the Health Equity Policy Agenda, pg. 227.
Examples of Barriers to Health
Housing: “Housing instability is very bad for your health and leads to increased risk of early drug use, teenage pregnancy, depression, anxiety, and suicide.…One reason for the close connection between housing instability and health is that people need to make difficult trade-offs about what they are going to pay for.“
– David K. Jones, PhD (2024).
Ripples of Hope in the Mississippi Delta: Charting the Health Equity Policy Agenda, pg. 64.
Physical Activity: “When asked why she was laughing at the question of walkability, a woman explained, ‘The only sidewalks are downtown.’ In other words, some areas are connected by sidewalks, but these are not where most people spend their time. In Tunica, many of the most visited destinations – jobs, stores, churches restaurants – are more likely to be in strip malls along a state highway than downtown. These important centers are far where people live, far from other common destinations, and only accessible by car.”
– David K. Jones, PhD (2024).
Ripples of Hope in the Mississippi Delta: Charting the Health Equity Policy Agenda, pg. 77.
What are examples of barriers to health in your community?
Neighborhood Equity Policy Goals
#1
Ensure that housing is safe, affordable, and available to all.
#2
Increase neighborhood safety.
#3
Remove structural barriers to physical activity.
Ripples of Hope
HOPE Credit Union
A nonprofit focused on building communities in areas that Bill Bynum describes as “bank deserts” because traditional lending institutions are scared off by the Black and rural populations they deem too risky. (See pages 83-85.)
Downtown Walking Trail in Cleveland, MS
A key feature of Cleveland’s thriving downtown area is a walking trail that “serves as a powerful example of the ways community leaders can shape the built environment to encourage physical activity”. (See pages 85-87.)
