Across the commonwealth, city and town planning commissions take on the difficult task of planning for the future. Every five years, they develop or revise their comprehensive plans to anticipate their constituents’ needs, dreams, and innovations for the coming decades. These comprehensive plans forecast land use, infrastructure, transportation, housing, parks and recreation, economic development, and public resources.
Planning commissions develop their comprehensive plans on community health and the well-being of their constituents by prioritizing social determinants of health (SDOH), non-medical factors such as socioeconomic status, education, environment, and access to healthcare that can impact an individual’s overall health. By considering SDOH, the commission and other stakeholders gain a broader understanding of community needs, leading to a more effective and equitable comprehensive plan.
Planning commissions are appointed citizens who work with their municipal planning departments to lead the development of a plan that includes input from a cross-section of residents, businesses, industry leaders, and other state and local agencies like the state health department. It’s important to include projections on locating and supporting schools, transportation, and housing that every day Virginians can access. Planning for decades into the future requires the consideration of lots of data. Still, unfortunately, communities’ health and well-being aren’t thoroughly analyzed because the social determinants of health are not part of the data collection efforts…