Subscribe to the RSS feed.The Big Look: Help incorporate health into the conversation about Oregon’s future
By:
CHP | Posted on: September 19th, 2008
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Air and Water Quality •
Disparities •
Economic Issues •
Education •
Policies and Laws •
Public Health •
Rural Health
In 2005, Oregon’s governor and legislature appointed a bipartisan task force, called “the Big Look,” to review Oregon’s statewide land use program. The group listened to testimony, conducted research, and considered various ideas to best plan for the challenges of today and tomorrow. The task force will present recommendations to the 2009 Legislature.
Now this task force is now asking for the public’s input “to participate in an important state-wide discussion about our land-use planning system and what changes you would support to improve Oregon’s legacy.”
The commission is asking questions such as “How do we accommodate 1.7 million new residents?” “How do we provide affordable housing and transportation?” “How can we ensure enough supply of land is available for job growth?” and “How should we pay for future infrastructure costs?”
While concern for the future health of Oregonians seems to be implicit, it’s not clearly and explicitly asked in these broad questions.
So why don’t we ask more questions like these:
What will Oregon do to ensure that our cities, communities, and buildings are free from pollution and also geared toward activity and not a sedentary lifestyle?
What chemicals are the biggest threats to our health, and how can Oregon take action to ban and regulate those chemicals more aggressively?
How will Oregon address the fact that unhealthy choices, whether they be for fast food, drugs, or cheap alcohol, are disproportionately more available to lower income people in the state?
How will Oregon address the affects of global warming on the health of the people?
What will Oregon do to encourage walking, biking, and other forms of exercise among all citizens and not just those with the financial means to more easily make those choices?
What will Oregon do to ensure that our kids are given adequate attention to their early and adolescent health needs? The state’s current ranking of 48 out of 50 in student to school nurse ratio is not promising.
What about basic public health funding? Oregon currently ranks in the bottom five states in per-capita funding of public health!
Any more questions?
More information on how you can get involved in this process can be found here.
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