San Marco by Design

The Health Planning Council has been facilitating a community planning process in partnership with San Marco Preservation Society (SMPS) and the City of Jacksonville Planning and Development Department (COJPDD) to create an improvement plan focusing on healthy and sustainable community design. Five focus groups have been conducted to garner input for the project. The meetings were attended by residents, property owners, merchants and business leaders. The discussions spurred an abundance of fresh, new ideas toward a future vision for North San Marco.

Themes emerged around creating a healthy community that conserves the character of the neighborhoods.  "The community is working towards developing an alternative set of guidelines or policies specifically for North San Marco.  We want to facilitate the creation of future vision that is appropriate for this community and will lead to a healthier, attractive and sustainable San Marco," says Valerie Feinberg, Director of Health Assessment and Urban Planning for the Health Planning Council. "This is a great process for convening the community to foster open dialogue.  The resulting visions for North San Marco will truly be a product or the community."

The next step in this process is planning a community wide event scheduled for late April where members of the community will have the opportunity to share their opinions on the plans developed by the project leaders with input from the focus groups.  Attendees will be encouraged to share their view of the plan and what they would like to see added or removed.

Expanding Capabilities

To aid in this process, the Health Planning Council recently added a new Board Member to their already diverse Board of Directors.  Earlier this month, Steve Lovett was approved by the Jacksonville City Council to be the newest addition to the HPC Board.  Steve is a founding partner of Ervin Lovett & Miller, an environmental design practice that creates sustainable, inspired places for people.  Steve will offer another level of expertise to help further HPC's capabilities within San Marco as well as other areas of the region.  This is also an opportunity for the Health Planning Council to further position itself as a source for public health AND urban planning.

Moving Forward

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently released a call for proposals to help demonstrate the effectiveness of Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) and promote their incorporation into local, state, tribal and federal decision-making. This call for proposals will help the Health Planning Council to undertake an HIA which provides sound, objective data than can help decision-makers identify the health ramifications of proposals in a range of sectors that do not traditionally focus on health outcomes, and make recommendations that enhance health benefits and minimize adverse effects and associated costs.

The Health Planning Council is working with local community leaders to submit a competitive grant application for Safe Routes for School funding.  Safe Routes to School programs enable community leaders, schools and parents across the United States to improve safety and encourage more children, including children with disabilities, to safely walk and bicycle to school. In the process, programs are working to reduce traffic congestion and improve health and the environment, making communities more livable for everyone.

The Health Planning Council is in the perfect position to apply and be awarded the funding for this opportunity.  This is a great opportunity not only for the HPC but for the entire region to benefit from this funding.  For more information on this funding opportunity or future partnerships contact Valerie Feinberg at (904) 723-2162 ext 103 or Valerie_feinberg@hpcnef.org.

Stay tuned for more exciting news!