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Parks and Trails Health Impact Assessment

Section D: Additional Topic Areas

The HIAs we reviewed for this Toolkit address several significant issues and provide recommendations directly related to the public health role of parks and trails. Issues include community redevelopment, quality of life, resource conservation or management, hazard mitigation, economic benefit, and air and water quality. Currently available evidence-based data demonstrate the role parks may play in many of these issues. The resources below may help provide background for potential HIA recommendations.

1. Brownfield redevelopment and resource management

References

Brownfields

Litt JS, Tran NL, Burke TA. 2002. Examining urban brownfields through the public health "macroscope." Environ Health Perspect 110 Suppl 2:183–93. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1241162/pdf/ehp110s-000183.pdf [PDF - 6.4 MB] [Accessed 2012 Apr 11].

Siikamaki J and Wernstedt K. 2008. Turning brownfields into greenspaces: Examining incentives and barriers to revitalization. J Health Polit Policy Law, 33(3), 559–593. Available at: http://activelivingresearch.org/files/8_JHPPL_Wernstedt.pdf [PDF - 581 KB].

US Environmental Protection Agency. 2008. About brownfields. Washington DC: Brownfields and Land Revitalization program. 2008. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

2. Parks/trails and urban heat islands

References

Jo HK. 2002. Impacts of urban greenspace on offsetting carbon emissions for middle Korea. J Environ Manage;64:115-26. Available at:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.155.7&rep=rep1&type=pdf [PDF - 192 KB] [Accessed 2012 Apr 11].

Younger M, Morrow-Almeida HR, Vindigni SM, et al. 2008. The built environment, climate change, and health: Opportunities for co-benefits. Am J Prev Med 35(5):517–26. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18929978. [Accessed 2012 Apr 11].

Federal Recommendations/Strategies/Reports:

US Environmental Protection Agency. Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies - Trees and Vegetation. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/hiri/resources/pdf/TreesandVegCompendium.pdf [PDF 4.5 MB]. [Accessed 2013 Nov 18].

US Environmental Protection Agency. Urban Heat Island Mitigation. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/hiri/mitigation/index.htm. [Accessed 2013 Nov 18].

Literature from Supporting Organizations

Greenspace Scotland. 2011. Developing the role of greenspace in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Available at: http://www.greenspacescotland.org.uk/SharedFiles/Download.aspx?pageid=133&mid=129&fileid=49. [Accessed 2012 Mar 2].

Groth P, Miller R, Nadkarni N, et al. 2008. Quantifying the greenhouse gas benefits of urban parks. [White Paper]. Trust for Public Lands. Available at: http://cloud.tpl.org/pubs/benefits_greenhouse_gases_and_parks_whitepaper.pdf [PDF - 2.3 MB]. [Accessed 2012 Feb 14].

APA Green Infrastructure Planning Advisory Study 2013.

The Toolkit is divided into four sections and two appendices:

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