1. PSUS 6230 UP:
SUSTAINABLE COMM DESIGN STUDIO: PLANNING FOR HEALTH POLICY IN
THE 21ST CENTURY
INSTRUCTOR
Sandra Whitehead – The George Washington University, College of Professional Studies,
Sustainable Urban Planning Program; swhitehead@gwu.edu. Dr. Whitehead can be reached via
phone or text at 850-727-2431 or via email.
OVERVIEW
This course is concerned with the application of a methodological framework, health impact
assessment (HIA) to problems faced by practitioners of the field of sustainable urban and regional
planning. In particular, it sets out the principles and methods that form the core of a powerful way
of understanding the health implications of urban and environmental policies, plans and programs
in such a way that recommendations can be made to augment positive health outcomes and
ameliorate negative health impacts. The overall strategy is to build knowledge of the connections
between the socio-ecological definition of health and the methodology of HIA to define the
implications for population health, while developing solution sets and recommendations for policy
makers. Students will learn the methodology in a hands-on environment and learn to apply it to
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2. real world policies, programs and projects. Skills acquired in this class will allow the participant to
develop evidence-based health, economic and social solutions to actual decisions under
consideration at the national, state or local level. The class will focus on readings, discussion and
in-class examples of how the framework, methodology and process they describe are applied to
complex questions found in the planning arena as they affect public health.
Students will leave the course having a working knowledge of key concepts including the social
determinants of health and the connection among policy decisions, economics and human health
outcomes. They will be able to apply this knowledge in multiple sectors and arenas.
SPECIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this course, students will learn to apply the tools of policy analysis, specifically Health Impact
Assessment, to currently proposed policies, plans and programs. Specifically, they will leave the
class knowing how to:
• Articulate the connections between health and the built environment.
• Understand the socio-ecological model of health including the role of health and social
equity in determining health status.
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3. • Describe the state of practice of Health Impact Assessment in the United States and
abroad.
• Understand and implement the underlying values, methods and phases of performing a
rapid Health Impact Assessment to assess the health implications of policies, plans and
projects on population health.
• Illustrate the role geographic space plays in the social determinants of health.
• Evaluate the economic costs and benefits associated with the health impacts and
recommendations made in the HIA process.
• Use the methodology of Health Impact Assessment to applied research questions
relevant to sustainable urban and regional planning.
• Develop and evaluate solution sets for improving policies, plans and projects to maximize
health benefits and minimize negative health impacts.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
• Class participation 10%. The purpose of class discussions is to review the weekly readings
and expand upon them through the sharing of ideas. Students are expected to come
prepared, having read all assigned materials; failure to do so will detract from the final
grade. Class participation counts for 10% of the final grade.
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4. • Individual literature reviews with analysis 5% each. Each student will be responsible for
preparing two literature reviews with an analysis. The first will be based on the nexus of
health and a particular policy area. The second will be specific to the group project. Each of
these counts for 10% of the final grade; they should be typed in 11-point font, double-
spaced, 8 – 10 pages in length, and are due on the dates listed below. All references should
be dated from 2008-present.
• Group Rapid HIA Project 50%. The class will be divided into two groups. Each group will
be assigned a policy, plan or project on which they will form a rapid health impact
assessment. Details will be shared via Blackboard and in class. The group project will be
50% of the final grade with 10% of this grade based on peer evaluation.
• Presentation of HIA Results 25%. Each group will prepare and present the results of their
rapid HIA to the class (and stakeholders when appropriate) in the form of a PowerPoint
presentation as well as preparing two other methods of communicating their results such as
but not limited to: an executive summary appropriate for distribution to policy makers; a
“one-pager’ appropriate for communicating results to citizens; a video, prezi or other multi-
media product..
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5. • Self-evaluation 5%. The purpose of the self-evaluation is for students to document their
learning experience in the course. This essay will provide a written evaluation of your
activities, including class-participation, a summary of learning progress through the
semester, and a recommended final grade, which will represent the remaining 5% of the
final grade.
CLASS POLICIES • No laptops, cell phones, iPads, etc. etc. • Papers are due at the beginning of
class. Late papers will be marked down a half-grade (B+ to B, B to B-) for every day they are
overdue. Requests for extensions will be given consideration if they are made at least two days in
advance of the due date. • The slides from each lecture will be available after class.
Blackboard: Various important class materials will be accessible through Blackboard, including
electronic reserves, this syllabus, assignments, and additional copies of slides presented in class
will also be posted. Be sure your account is up-to-date; I may occasionally send email
announcements via Blackboard.
UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER (UCC) The University Counseling Center (UCC) assists
students in addressing personal, social, career, and study problems. Services for students
include: - academic support and Peer Tutoring Services:
http://gwired.gwu.edu/counsel/AcademicSupport/PeerTutoringService/ 3 - crisis consultations at
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6. 202-994-5300 (24/7) - confidential counseling services (individual and small group) Security In
the case of an emergency, if at all possible, the class should shelter in place. If the building that
the class is in is affected, follow the evacuation procedures for the building. After evacuation,
seek shelter at a predetermined rendezvous location.
Academic Integrity: I support the GW Code of Academic Integrity. It states: “Academic dishonesty
is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the
work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of
information.” For the remainder of the code, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html Support
for Students Outside the Classroom
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS) Any student who may need an accommodation based
on the potential impact of a disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-
994-8250 in the Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable
accommodations. For additional information please refer to: http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss/
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7. REQUIRED TEXTS
• FRUMKIN, HOWARD. 2010. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: FROM GLOBAL TO LOCAL,
SECOND EDITION, SAN FRANCISCO: JOSSEY-BASS. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE
USING THE SECOND EDITION.
• BHATIA R. HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT: A GUIDE FOR PRACTICE [PDF -
6.5 MB]
• SELECTED ARTICLES IDENTIFIED IN THIS SYLLABUS. ADDITIONAL READINGS MAY
BE ASSIGNED VIA BLACKBOARD.
CLASS SCHEDULE
(Week 1: September 3) First day of class
Introduction to Health and the Built Environment
Literature review topics assigned.
Assignment 1: Each student will complete a literature review on one of the following topics:
• The role of the built environment in population health
• The role of planning policy in public health
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8. • Ways in which the policy decisions made by non-public health entities affect public health
(choose one)
o Transportation
o Parks and Recreation
o Agriculture
o Land use
o Energy (can be production, consumption or allocation)
o Water
o Brownfield redevelopment
o Gentrification
The literature reviews are due the second week of class. The papers should be not less than 10
typed pages and articles referenced should have been published not earlier than 2008. Each
student should choose one topic as approved by the instructor during the first class. This
assignment is due by 5:30 on the date of the second class meeting. Assignments will be
turned in electronically via Blackboard.
In class viewing of: Bill Davenhall: Your health depends on where you live
Bill Davenhall is a pioneer of “geo-medicine.” At TEDMED 2009, he shows that even the most avid
of travelers spends the grand majority of their time at home and at work — repeated exposure to
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9. specific locations that come with their own specific health risks. This talk is a call for doctors to look
carefully at geo-data — local heart attack rates and toxic materials maps — to determine how to
best treat patients.
(Week 2: September 10) Health Impact Assessment 101
Readings for Week 2:
• Wendel AM. Establishing the practice of health impact assessment in the United States.
Journal of Environmental Health. 2012; 75(1):32-33.
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Docs/JEH/2012/July-Aug_Wendel-HIA.pdf
• Wernham A. Health impact assessments are needed in decision making about
environmental and land-use policy. Health Affairs (Millwood). 2011; 30(5):947-956.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/30/5/947.full.pdf+html
• Frank, L. Health and the Built Environment: A Review. The Canadian Medical
Association, June, 2012.
http://www.wma.net/en/20activities/30publichealth/30healthenvironment/Built_Env-
Final_Report-August2012.pdf
• A Forsyth, CS Slotterback, K Krizek. Health impact assessment (HIA) for planners: what
tools are useful?, Journal of Planning Literature, 2010. Accessed at:
http://kevinjkrizek.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hiajpl.pdf
• Bourcier E, Charbonneau D, Cahill C, Dannenberg AL. An Evaluation of Health Impact
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10. Assessments in the United States, 2011–2014. Prev Chronic Dis 2015;12:140376.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.140376.
Assign second literature review: HIA critique. Each student will read and critique at least two
HIAs on the same topic. They will be graded following the same rubric as above. HIAs may be
found through Google Scholar or on one of the following websites:
• http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/health-impact-project/health-impact-
assessment/case-studies
• http://www.ph.ucla.edu/hs/health-impact/reports.htm
• http://www.who.int/hia/examples/en/
• http://www.apho.org.uk/default.aspx?RID=44538
• http://hiaconnect.edu.au/reports/
This assignment is due by 5:30 on the date of the fourth class meeting. Assignments will
be turned in electronically via Blackboard.
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11. (Week 3: September 17) Screening and Scoping: Identifying Policies, Programs and Projects
Appropriate for HIA
Human Impact Partners. 2009. Considerations for the Selection of Appropriate Policies, Plans, or
Projects for Analysis using Health Impact Assessment.
http://www.humanimpact.org/HIA_Screening_White Paper.pdf
Work on group projects to begin in class.
Choose groups and projects for Rapid HIA
First literature review due: Connections between health and the built environment
(Week 4: September 24) Environmental Health: Ecosystem Services and Human Health
• E.O. Wilson on Ecosystem Services: video https://youtu.be/duOzXGTuUrA
• Ecosystems and human well-being: health synthesis: a report of the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment / Core writing team: Carlos Corvalan, Simon Hales, Anthony
McMichael ; extended writing team: Colin Butler ... [et al.] ; review editors: José Sarukhán
... [et al.]. http://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/ecosys.pdf
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12. • Exploring the Links: Human Well-being, Poverty and Ecosystem Services, Anantha
K. Duraiappah, Download (890 kb)
(Week 5: October 1) Developing the Problem Set: Identifying Health Impacts and Building Logic
Models
Evers Health for All indicators in health interview surveys,SM.Health Policy. 1993 Mar; 23(3):205-
18.
Developing Logic Models and Theory of Change: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-
contents/overview/models-for-community-health-and-development/logic-model-
development/main
Review the following websites:
• http://www.stateoftheusa.org
• http://www.commissiononhealth.org/WhatDrivesHealth.aspx
• http://uwphi.pophealth.wisc.edu/pha/healthiestState/reportCard/2007.htm
• http://wwwn.cdc.gov/communityhealth
• http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showHealthImpactAssessment.action
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13. (Week 6: October 8) Developing Indicators, Baseline Conditions, Making Predictions
Human Impact Partners. A Review of the Evidence Base for Planning Projects.
http://www.humanimpact.org/EvidenceBase/com.ps
ychrod.eb.EvidenceBase/EvidenceBase.html
(Week 7: October 15) Data Systems and Sensors: Tracking Health Implications Using
Technology
Ethan M. Berke, Tanzeem Choudhury, Shahid Ali, and Mashfiqui Rabbi. Objective Measurement
of Sociability and Activity: Mobile Sensing in the Community, Ann Fam Med. 2011 Jul; 9(4): 344–
350. doi: 10.1370/afm.1266
How Portable Air Sensors Are Changing Pollution Detection, City Lab. Accessed at:
http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/08/how-portable-air-sensors-are-changing-pollution-
detection/401147/
Public Health Leaders Using Social Media to Convey Emergencies: New Tools a Boon
Donya Currie. Nations Health. 2009;39(6). Accessed at:
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14. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/710011
Capurro D, Cole K, Echavarría MI, Joe J, Neogi T, Turner AM
The Use of Social Networking Sites for Public Health Practice and Research: A Systematic
Review. J Med Internet Res 2014;16(3):e79DOI: 10.2196/jmir.2679
(Week 8: October 22) Developing Recommendations
San Francisco Department of Public Health. Program on Health, Equity and Sustainability. Health
Impact Assessment Tools. http://www.sfphes.org/HIA_Tools.htm
(Week 9: October 29) Food Systems
White, M. Food Access and Obesity, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle
University, Newcastle, UK. November 2006. Accessed at:
http://www.foodshedproject.ca/pdf/Food%20access%20and%20obesity.pdf
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15. The Public Health Effects of Food Deserts: Workshop Summary. Download here:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12623/the-public-health-effects-of-food-deserts-
workshop-summary
Paula Tarnapol Whitacre, Peggy Tsai, and Janet Mulligan, Rapporteurs; National Research
Council, 2009. Accessed at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12623.html
(Week 10: November 5) Air, Soil and Water
Frumkin, Chapters 12, 14, 18
(Week 11: November 12) Active Transportation
Frumkin, Chapter 17
(Week 12: November 19) Developing and Presenting Recommendations
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16. The California Endowment’s Health Exchange Academy: Communicating for Change series
http://www.calendow.org/Article.aspx?id=3904
The Praxis Project: http://www.thepraxisproject.org/irc/media.html
Berkeley Media Studies Group: http://www.bmsg.org
The Frameworks Institute: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/
Hans Rosling: The best stats you've ever seen | TED Talk ...
▶ 19:50 www.ted.com/.../hans_rosling_shows_the_best...
TED In Hans Rosling's hands, data sings. Global trends in health and economics come to vivid
life
California Health Care Organization: Worth a Thousand Words:
http://www.chcf.org/~/media/MEDIA%20LIBRARY%20Files/PDF/W/PDF
%20WorthThousandWordsDataViz.pdf
(Week 13: November 26) Thanksgiving: no class!
(Week 14: December 3) Health in All Policies: Inter-Sectoral Work to Improve Population
Health
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17. (Week 15: December 10) Reading Day: no class
(Week 16: December 17) Group Presentations of Rapid HIAs in class
Self-evaluation and Reporting Documents due
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18. POLICIES AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
BLACKBOARD SITE
A Blackboard course site has been set up for this course. Each student is expected to check the
site throughout the semester, as Blackboard will be the primary venue for outside classroom
communications between the instructors and the students. Students can access the course site at
https://blackboard.gwu.edu. Support for Blackboard is available at 202-994-4948 or
helpdesk.gwu.edu.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All members of the university community are expected to exhibit honesty and competence in their
academic work. Students have a special responsibility to acquaint themselves with, and make
use of, all proper procedures for doing research, writing papers, and taking exams. Members of
the community will be presumed to be familiar with the proper academic procedures and will be
held responsible for applying them. Deliberate failure to act in accordance with such procedures
will be considered academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is defined as “cheating of any
kind, including misrepresenting one’s own work, taking credit for the work of others without
crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” Acts of
academic dishonesty are a legal, moral, and intellectual offense against the community and will
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19. be prosecuted through the proper university channels. The University Code of Academic Integrity
can be found at http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html.
SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
GW’s Disability Support Services (DSS) provides and coordinates accommodations and other
services for students with a wide variety of disabilities, as well as those temporarily disabled by
injury or illness. Accommodations are available through DSS to facilitate academic access for
students with disabilities. Additional information is available at www.gwu.edu/~dss.
IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY DURING CLASS
If we experience some an emergency during class time, we will try to stay at this location until we
hear that we can move about safely. If we have to leave here, we will meet at the roundabout
located at the southeast corner of GECA in order to account for everyone and to make certain
that everyone is safe. Please refer to Campus Advisories for the latest information on the
University’s operating status: http://www.campusadvisories.gwu.edu/.
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