Forging new partnerships to build healthier communities for a healthier state.

Building healthy communities is critical to reducing the rates of chronic diseases impacting millions of North Carolinians. In 2011, North Carolina's overall health status ranking was 32nd in the nation (with 1 being the best). It is well recognized that health is impacted by a variety of individual, social, environmental, and economic factors, which are complex, interrelated, and influenced by a variety of other factors. Creating healthy communities provides options for people to make health-promoting choices. Such communities include transportation alternatives, access to healthy foods and places to be active, opportunities for economic growth and education, and clean air and water. Creating communities that provide these types of options requires the work of different sectors, many of which may not have health as their main mission, such as those that focus on commerce, planning, transportation, and environmental and natural resources. This article outlines the need for healthier communities and highlights the innovative partnerships and work being done by individuals and agencies at the state, local, and national levels to build healthier communities across North Carolina.