Program Manager Regional Plan Association Getting Food & Health into Regional Planning in the New York Metropolitan Region Mandu Sen Program Manager Regional Plan Association Thank You. I am here to give you some of the key findings from the State of the Region’s health. All in all, we New Yorkers live a lot longer than we used to, and our urban form supports walkability and other elements of healthy living. But we are also facing big health disparities, many of which are rooted in the built environment. And looking to the future, there’s a lot we need to do to ensure a healthy life for all.

New Yorkers now live longer than Americans overall Life expectancy, 1990-2010 So how healthy is the region? On average, people in the New York region can expect to the age of eighty, two years longer than Americans at large.  This has not always been so: 20 years ago, people in the region lived less than the average American. Some of the drivers for this increase are the same as nation-wide: medical advances, especially around heart disease. But parts of the region did see a particularly sharp drop in deaths from HIV and homicides, which helps explain this big change. Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation

New Yorkers report feeling unhealthy more often than residents of many other regions Physically unhealthy days per adult per month, 2014 But we don’t do as well as we could when it comes to our quality of life. We report feeling unhealthy more often than residents of many other regions. And our urban environment can contribute to it: the heat on the subway on a summer day or the stress of making rent are specific quality of life issues that came up repeatedly in our research. Source: 2016 County Health Rankings

The region’s urban form functions as a built-in gym Share of workers using transit, 1990-2010 But our built environment does a lot of good to our health. We by far use more transit than anywhere else in the nation, which means we walk more, not only to the subway station but to the supermarket or the laundromat. So effectively, our urban environment serves as built-in gym. This can be of huge benefit because research suggests that exercise can be literally life-saving: moving an additional 10+ minutes a day could lengthen life by nearly two years according to one study. Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation Ed Yourdon

Where residents live is linked with how long they live But there are also many big disparities in health outcomes in the region, and all too often, where you live, can predict how long you live. Many of these can be connected to urban planning policies, such as housing policies, made decades ago, that perpetuated segregation, and limited access to opportunity to many communities in the region. So for example in Essex county in new jersey people typically live to age 78, five years less than in neighboring Bergen county.

Race and ethnicity are linked with health outcomes Adult obesity, 2010 Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to be obese than whites – in the region and nationwide. Obesity is a major risk factor to a variety of health conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Sources: The State of Obesity 2015, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Children of color are more likely to live in low-performing public school districts Share of children by public school performance, 2010 In the United States, college grads can expect to live at least five years longer than those without a college degree according to some studies.  But in the New York region, the opportunities of black and brown children to even get to college are severely limited by the fact that nearly one in five of them live in low performing school districts.  This, as opposed to less than one in ten white or asian children. Source: Regional Plan Association

RPA’s Fourth Regional Plan In the United States, college grads can expect to live at least five years longer than those without a college degree according to some studies.  But in the New York region, the opportunities of black and brown children to even get to college are severely limited by the fact that nearly one in five of them live in low performing school districts.  This, as opposed to less than one in ten white or asian children.

What will the region look like in 25 years? What we know We will have an older and more diverse region Climate change will bring more heat, flooding and pollution In the United States, college grads can expect to live at least five years longer than those without a college degree according to some studies.  But in the New York region, the opportunities of black and brown children to even get to college are severely limited by the fact that nearly one in five of them live in low performing school districts.  This, as opposed to less than one in ten white or asian children.

What will the region look like in 25 years? What the risk is Affordability crisis & digital divide may increase inequality Aging infrastructure could bring the region to a halt In the United States, college grads can expect to live at least five years longer than those without a college degree according to some studies.  But in the New York region, the opportunities of black and brown children to even get to college are severely limited by the fact that nearly one in five of them live in low performing school districts.  This, as opposed to less than one in ten white or asian children.

The Fourth Regional Plan will aim to explicitly incorporate health into its proposals. It will aim to preserve the region’s health success in terms of transit access, walkability, etc. and expand it as appropriate. It will seek to move the needle on the roots of many of our health inequalities through expanding access to opportunities in terms of housing and jobs.; and it will seek to incorporate health into our decision making by using health as an explicit criteria by which we evaluate our decision making. Thank you, and I look forward to what our panel has to say.

How much growth should we plan for? Vision How much growth should we plan for? Jobs today: 11.6 M Population today: 22.9 M

What will the Fourth Regional Plan’s policy agenda look like? Streamlined freight & industrial policy Comprehensive approach to open space & farmland preservation Reforming the process of planning In the United States, college grads can expect to live at least five years longer than those without a college degree according to some studies.  But in the New York region, the opportunities of black and brown children to even get to college are severely limited by the fact that nearly one in five of them live in low performing school districts.  This, as opposed to less than one in ten white or asian children.

Streamlined freight & industrial policy A more effective port authority which includes food movement as part of its mission Acknowledge the many food systems – local, different cuisines and immigrant communities, etc.

Streamlined freight & industrial policy Reduce congestion Nighttime deliveries Smaller delivery hubs in core areas Acknowledge the many food systems – local, different cuisines and immigrant communities, etc.

Streamlined freight & industrial policy Preservation of industrial land Invest in food-centered transport hubs Mixed use industrial to allow for food manufacturing Acknowledge the many food systems – local, different cuisines and immigrant communities, etc.

Comprehensive approach to farmland preservation Young farmer programs Integrating local food into food hubs Acknowledge the many food systems – local, different cuisines and immigrant communities, etc.

Place-based planning Streamlined process of planning, with funding & accountability measures Use process of planning + health assessments to do food marketing research in vulnerable areas Acknowledge the many food systems – local, different cuisines and immigrant communities, etc.

Place based planning Invest in markets across the region as catalysts for transformation & food sources Leveraging purchasing power of unified school districts & other institutions Acknowledge the many food systems – local, different cuisines and immigrant communities, etc.