Strategies

What Works for Health includes evidence-informed strategies to create communities where everyone can thrive.

76 Strategies
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Participatory budgeting

Engage community members to determine how public budgets are spent, ideally to improve neighborhood conditions and reduce inequality.
Evidence Rating:
Mixed Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Budgets
  • Governance

Permeable pavement projects

Use pervious concrete, porous asphalt, permeable interlocking pavers, open-jointed blocks or cells, or other permeable pavement in individual or commercial development efforts; also called porous or pervious pavement
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Air, water and land

PFAS regulations

Establish regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured chemicals, that address production, use, and environmental contamination
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Air, water and land

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Places for physical activity

Modify local environments to support physical activity, increase access to new or existing facilities for physical activity, or build new facilities
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Diet and exercise
  • Civic and community resources
  • Climate

Plastic bag bans

Prohibit the manufacture, use, and provision of single-use plastic bags, either partially or completely, and provide education and outreach to raise consumer awareness and support of bans
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Air, water and land
  • Climate

Societal Rules

  • Laws and policies

Proper drug disposal programs

Establish programs that accept expired, unwanted, or unused medicines from designated users and dispose of them responsibly
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Alcohol and drug use
  • Air, water and land

Public deliberations

Bring people with diverse values and perspectives together to engage in facilitated, inclusive, and informed dialogues about a topic of public concern. Examples include Citizens’ Initiative Reviews, deliberative polling, citizen juries, and citizen’s assemblies.
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Societal Rules

  • Governance

Public libraries for community building

Lend materials, offer gathering space, and provide educational, civic, and social programming; open to the community and publicly funded
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion

Community Conditions

  • Civic and community resources

Public transportation systems

Introduce or expand transportation options that are available to the public and run on a scheduled timetable (e.g., buses, trains, ferries, rapid transit, etc.)
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported

Community Conditions

  • Housing and transportation
  • Civic and community resources
  • Climate

Societal Rules

  • Budgets
  • Worldviews, culture and norms

Rain barrels

Use ready-made or home constructed barrel systems to collect and store rainwater from rooftops that would otherwise flow to storm drains and streams
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence

Community Conditions

  • Air, water and land
  • Climate