Title: Summary of new available reports

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Section/SPIG: Environment

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The Prevention Institute (<http://www.preventioninstitute.org>), a non-profit national center based in Oakland, Calif., that is dedicated to improving community health and well-being by building momentum for effective primary prevention, is pleased to announce the release of two new publications, described below. All of their “tools” can be accessed free of charge at: <http://www.preventioninstitute.org/tools.html>.


Cultivating Common Ground: Linking Health and Sustainable Agriculture

In the public debate of what can be done to address the growing rates of nutrition-related health conditions, considerations of agricultural practices and policy have largely been absent. Sustainable agriculture practices are rarely seen as viable solutions for improving nutrition and health. In fact, there are compelling reasons to link the health and sustainable agriculture sectors. Cultivating Common Ground delineates opportunities for creating a synergistic movement between health and sustainable agriculture, in order to strengthen the momentum for a just, sustainable health-promoting food system. Opportunities to positively impact agriculture, the environment and health make this collaboration not only promising, but essential. The newly released report, funded by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation and Columbia Foundation, can be downloaded at: <http://www.preventioninstitute.org/buildingbr.html>.


The Built Environment and Health: 11 Profiles of Neighborhood Transformation

There is growing recognition that the built environment – the physical structures and infrastructure of communities – plays a significant role in shaping our health. With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health, Prevention Institute profiled 11 projects across the country in predominantly low-income communities, where residents and practitioners from multiple sectors partnered to make neighborhood-level changes to the built environment. The profiles reveal how improvements to the built environment can positively influence the health of community residents. Taken more broadly, they demonstrate how improvements to the built environment have the potential to reduce health disparities. Read the inspiring stories of community perseverance and multi-sector partnerships at: <http://www.preventioninstitute.org/builtenv.html>.


To link directly to The Built Environment and Health: http://www.preventioninstitute.org/pdf/BE_full_document_110304.pdf


To link directly to Cultivating Common Ground: http://www.preventioninstitute.org/pdf/Cultivating_Common_Ground.pdf