Using Land Policy to Improve Population Health.

We examine whether zoning can increase health equity and population health by assessing a new zoning ordinance in the City of Baltimore that forced 76 liquor stores in residential areas to relocate, close, or convert to an approved use. To do so, we undertake a baseline assessment of neighborhoods with affected liquor stores, and predict the potential impact of the zoning change by estimating the impact of previous closures and openings of liquor stores on neighborhood crime in Baltimore using a spatial Poisson random trend fixed effects model. We find that affected stores are concentrated in high poverty, majority black neighborhoods with high vacancy rates, and that liquor store closings are associated with a statistically significant reduction in violent crime on the block group in question with no negative spillover affects onto the nearby block groups.

Bridging the Housing and Health Policy Divide: Lessons in Community Development from Memphis and Baltimore.

Governments and nonprofits routinely partner to launch place-based initiatives in distressed neighborhoods with the goal of stabilizing real estate markets, reclaiming vacant properties, abating public nuisances, and reducing crime. Public health impacts and outcomes are rarely the major policy drivers in the design and implementation of these neighborhood scale initiatives. In this article, we examine recent Health Impact Assessments in Baltimore, Maryland and Memphis, Tennessee to show how public health concepts, principles, and practices can be infused into existing and new programs and policies, and how public health programs can help to improve population health by addressing the upstream social determinants of health. We provide a portfolio of ideas and practices to bridge this classic divide of housing and health policy.