The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Vision for Healthy Communities through Sustainable Transportation

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) increasingly includes the health of North Carolinians in its transportation decision-making. With an expanded mission that now includes health, the agency is integrating public health considerations into its initiatives, plans, and policies, as well as exploring the use of health impact assessments. This article describes the NCDOT’s Vision for Health Communities through Sustainable Transportation, which includes a focus on creating a built environment that provides opportunities for physical activity. NCDOT and its sister state agencies and local government partners are incorporating strategies to positively influence public health outcomes by including active transportation features such as sidewalks and bike facilities when creating transportation and land-development plans. The article also describes the Healthy Environments Collaborative, an interagency collaboration between the NCDOT, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources; the agencies work closely with one another and with partners at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University to improve the health of North Carolina’s people, economy, and environments. Other programs of the NCDOT are also briefly described: Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan; the Complete Streets Policy; and Traditional Neighborhood Development Street Design Guidelines. The article concludes with a discussion of the impact of changes in the state’s population, notably a doubling of the population over the age of 60 by the year 2030.

• Record URL:
  https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/039a/8f87c5fc5bf2baf10cb85e649844361ee832.pdf?_ga=2.165876350.1915452336.1581538483-1889596704.1567016067
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00292559
• Authors:
  • Conti, Eugene A
  • Morris, Paul F
  • Hunkins, Julie A
• Publication Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 274-277
• Serial:
  • North Carolina Medical Journal
  • Volume: 73
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: North Carolina Institute of Medicine
  • ISSN: 0029-2559
  • Serial URL: http://www.ncmedicaljournal.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cooperation; Demographics; Health; Land use; Mobility; Nonmotorized transportation; Sustainable development; Transportation planning; Walking
• Geographic Terms: North Carolina
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01458142
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 31 2012 5:56PM