Public Health

Goals

1. Maintain and improve the health and quality of life for all Norwood residents sustainably and equitably.
2. Sustainably create social and physical environments that promote good health for all to promote high-quality longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death.
3. Work so that all residents, especially vulnerable populations, are prepared and can recover quickly from future climate-related impacts and disasters.
4. Promote social connections as a boon to public health and resiliency.

Strategies

1. Decrease climate and environmental pollution.

1. Reduce hunger/malnutrition and increase food security. One in eight people living in the US is food insecure.

1. Promote healthy and sustainable diets through reduced packaging, increased local farming, and plant-based diets.
2. Increase access and encourage participation in physical activity in and around town.

1. Reduce stress caused by weather events and extreme temperatures by having clear emergency plans and support for residents after these events.

1. Maintain and increase access to green space for Norwood residents to improve mental health.
2. Decrease sources of greenhouse gases in Norwood to relieve adverse health effects caused by increased levels of greenhouse gases.
3. Mitigate hot spots in town.
4. Protect the Town’s surface and groundwater resources.
5. Ensure all residents have access to clean drinking water, especially during natural disasters.
6. Reduce pollution to lessen the prevalence of preexisting conditions, like asthma.
7. Improve transportation and land-use options that are sustainable and open to all.
1. Promote safe, walkable, roll-able, bikeable, and drivable streets, and ensure convenient public transportation services. Develop a network of bike lanes, especially within a 1-mile radius of schools.  Increase crosswalks at intersecting streets for safe crossing.
2. Develop on-demand, ride-shared (Micro-transit service) or Neighborhoods across Norwood that are connected and accessible by multimodal transportation and public transit system.
3. Implement Complete Street recommendations.

Narrative

It is becoming increasingly apparent that public health is tied to how that community deals with and mitigates climate change. Whether it is providing more green outdoor spaces for residents or reducing greenhouse gases to lessen complications with pre-existing conditions, like many respiratory diseases, the choices a town makes can have a ripple effect throughout the community's health.

Any decisions that the Town makes should be made sustainably and improves the lives of all residents equitably. The Town can do this by creating green environments that promote good health, mentally, socially, and physically. Whether reducing hot spots within the Town, providing access to alternative transportation or expanding multi-use green spaces, or reducing high rates of pollution causing health issues, the aim should be to find ways to increase the quality of life of all residents.

While there are ways to adapt Norwood to promote health and sustainability, attention needs to be given to how the town prepares and protects its residents from extreme climate events that are likely to increase in the coming decades because of the direct correlation to weather events and increased rates of disease. Extremes in temperatures, severe rain, snowstorms, and extended droughts put stress on people, both physically and mentally, and measures should be put in place to help residents deal with the impacts of climate change. For immediate responses to these events, shelters and evacuation plans are essential to protect residents and provide relief when needed. However, when rebuilding from and trying to mitigate these events, assisting residents needs to be done sustainably and reduces the stress and impact on the environment.