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The Healthy Communities Program specializes in investigating the intersection where transportation and land use policies effect
community health and well-being. The goal of the program is to help create sustainable, livable and healthier communities.
The program is a professional services division of the Florida State University Center for Demography and Population Health
and the Pepper Center on Aging and Public Policy. The Healthy Communities Program has been established to provide
academically sound and directly relevant policy analysis to public and private decision makers in Florida.
The service plays an active role in preparing students for careers in firms that depend on demographic and analytical expertise.
The Healthy Community Program (HCP) is supported by Associates in the Center for Demography and Population Health and the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy working on identifying and explaining the causes and consequences social, economic and population trends. HCP is housed with the Center for Demography and Population Health which staffed by researchers from multiple disciplines including Economics, Urban and Regional Planning, Geography, Sociology, Statistics, Epidemiology, and Medicine. Associates are integral members of specialized research programs including growth management, health and aging, social demography, population economics and environmental planning.
Healthy Communities Program Capacity and Qualifications:
Dr. Melanie Simmons, Director of the Healthy Communities Program, serves as principal analyst for projects. After many years in academic, public and private sectors, she realized the potential for methods that combine the scientific evidence and population statistics to forecast health, social and economic impacts on specific populations for plans, policies and development projects. This information is vital to local decision makers in creating sustainable, healthy and prosperous communities. Doctoral and masters level students work on projects and faculty provide technical assistance as well as peer-review of all reports produced.
Dr. Simmons partners and works with the American Planning Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has
worked for Florida Legislative Commissions as well as and state
and local health, growth management, transportation, education and economic development agencies. She has provided professional services for
Seattle Washington, cities within the Denver Colorado Metro area and firms such as CNL Real Estate and Development, Kaiser Permanente
and non-profits such as the March of Dimes and Civic Results. Her recent
speaking engagements include the Sarasota County Sustainable Communities Workshop and the American Public Health Association and the
American Planning Association Conferences. She authored a section in the Planning and Urban Design best seller Sustainable Urbanism:
Urban Design with Nature edited by Doug Farr Chair of the LEED Neighborhood Development Committee.
FSU Healthy Communities Program Current Projects:
The Florida Department of Transportation Transit Office engaged the Healthy Communities
Program to investigate the Climate Change, Energy Conservation and Health Benefits of Public Transportation.
This year-long project will provide information to the
Florida Governor’s Action Team on Climate and Energy and will have a nationally-recognized panel of experts on board
to review, advise and publicize this important work.
CNL Real Estate and Development
engaged HCP to review the de minimus exemption for transportation concurrency in the Tallahassee, Florida. This report is
being finalized with the opportunity to expand the analysis statewide. The study found that between 2000 and 2007,
small residential projects added over 14,000 afternoon rush hour trips to the roads and only two percent of those trips funded
roadway capacity. This is compared to medium size projects that added about 2,000 rush hour trips to the road and 40 percent of
those trips funded roadway capacity. The largest developments added over 4,000 rush hour trips to the roads and fully 53 percent of
those trips funded roadway capacity. Small projects created the vast majority of rush hour trips and paid practically nothing for
roadway capacity whereas medium and large projects paid the greatest share of roadway capacity. This inequality in roadway funding of
rush hour traffic is just one of many problems associated with current transportation concurrency. Recommendations offered to address
these issues and limitations of the study are noted.
Current Proposals:
HCP is participating in a proposal to the Jesse Ball DuPont Foundation to update the celebrated publication from the FSU Collins Center entitled Tough Choices. The HCP will author the chapter on the changing demographics in Florida, specifically investigating the question, “Are we losing the middle class?”
HCP is also participating in a proposal with the APTA Group evaluating the impact of Department of Health’s tobacco prevention efforts statewide.
Leon County Schools has asked the HCP to evaluate their school concurrency student generation rate methodology.
HCP will partner with The FSU College of Human Sciences on several projects that include risk factors for osteoporosis and injury rates of correctional officers.
HCP along with the FSU Medical School has submitted a proposal to investigate patient safety and environmental risk factors for neurological injury at birth in Florida.
Recent Events:
Critical Issues Symposium on School Siting and Healthy Communities, 3 & 4th, April 2008. Funded by the DeVoe Moore Center Co-sponsored by
the Center for Demography & Population Health Florida State University.
Links to Recent Reports:
Florida VitaGrant Evaluation
De minimus Exemption and Transportation Concurrency.
Grads Made Good:
Helen Rosenkrantz evaluated the Group Prenatal Care Project implemented at the Florida Department of Health.
After noting the effectiveness of the program and the high levels of satisfaction among the clients and providers,
she wondered why there was enormous attrition from the program, especially in the rural areas.
Helen conducted a follow-up investigation to determine the cause of the attrition. Her analysis lead to the
creation of a decision model for providers contemplating Group Prenatal Care models such as CenteringPregnancy®.
The paper has been distributed to over 500 providers nationwide and among many listservs serving the Maternal and
Child Health community. Helen can be reached at her5469@fsu.edu or (850) 339-4152.
Matt Hauer recently accepted a position at the US Census Bureau in Washington DC working in the Population Estimates Branch. While at the Census Bureau, Matt has worked with the Housing Unit-Based Estimates Research Team, or HUBERT for short examining the effectiveness of Housing Unit-Based population estimates at the Sub County level. He has also helped put together a conference to detail the results of HUBERT at the Census Bureau. While at the Healthy Communities Program, Matt advised the Florida Legislature's Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida on Health and the Built Environment indicators to track for sustainable development in the state. He also was instrumental in the analysis on the impact of de minimus exception to transportation growth management in Tallahassee. He has a strong interest in the theoretical aspects of Demography as well as a very competent grasp of the applied. Matt was vital in Bob Knight Photography Inc's decision to acquire a company based in Arizona. Matt examined the demographic details of Arizona and compared Arizona to the current markets Bob Knight Photography serviced. Matt's final analysis was one of the deciding factors in the final determination to acquire the company in Arizona. Matt can be reached at meh03c@garnet.acns.fsu.edu.
Jessica Bishop submitted "Improving folic acid consumption in women at-risk for neural tube defects in Florida” to the Maternal and Child Health Journal for publication stemming from the Healthy Communities Program Evaluation of the Florida VitaGrant for the March of Dimes. She is continuing work on her PhD. She can be contacted at jcb03d@fsu.edu.
Areas of Policy Research:
Growth Management, Regional Visioning and Demographics:
Transportation Concurrency and Growth Management (with Joel Embry of CNL Real Estate and Development
and Keith Burnsed at Moore Bass School Concurrency and Growth Management
(with Leon County Florida Schools )
Impact Fees (with Chris Moran CPA).
Aging and Public Policy (also with the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy).
Health and the Built Environment:
Health Elements in Comprehensive Plans (with the FSU Urban and Regional Planning Department)
Health Impact Assessments (with the American Planning Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the National City and County Health Association and)
Health Care Cost Savings and Smart Growth (with Doug Farr, Chair of the LEED ND Committee in Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature )
Indicators for Healthy Built Environment (with The Florida Legislature’s Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida )
Aging issues associated with Physical Activity, Obesity, Independence and Mobility (with The FSU Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy )
Health and Early Childhood Research:
Birth-related Medical Malpractice and Patient Safety (with the FSU Medical School Division of Health Affairs)
Pre and Interconception Care (with The March of Dimes)
Early Childhood Development (with The FSU Center for Prevention and Early Invervention Policy)
School Health (with www.doh.state.fl.us and www.fldoe.org/BII/CSHP/)
Preterm/Low Birth Weight Births, Infant Mortality, Prenatal Care (with The Florida Department of Health Infant,
Maternal and Reproductive Health Unit and The FSU Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy )
Impact of legislation on vulnerable populations (with the Developmental Disabilities Council )
Evaluation of Community Involvement Initiatives (with the FSU Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy and
the Department of Health Infant, Maternal and Reproductive Health Unit )
Climate Change:
Climate Change, Energy Conservation and Health Benefits of Public Transportation (with the Florida Department of Transportation
Office of Transit )
Accounting for Carbon Offsets for Cap and Trade (with Carbon Verify )
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