Key result
Neighborhood land use rezoning is linked to ~14% lower incident CVD risk.
Why the study?
Does living in a neighborhood undergoing land use rezoning reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease in mid-life and older adults?
Cohort (n=11,170)
Does living in a neighborhood undergoing land use rezoning reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease in mid-life and older adults?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Urban land use rezoning efforts aimed at increasing affordable housing are associated with a 13.5% lower risk of incident cardiovascular disease among mid-life and older adults.
Introduction: Land use rezoning policies can spur new investment and revitalization in the area. Such revitalization efforts in low-income areas have been inconsistently linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related outcomes among residents. In the Bronx, New York, a large-scale neighborhood land use rezoning effort provides an opportunity to examine CVD outcomes over time. Methods: This study compared the incidence of CVD in a retrospective cohort of initially CVD-free mid-life and older (≥ 50 years) patients of a large hospital system residing in a Bronx, New York neighborhood undergoing a land use rezoning effort (Jerome Avenue, JA, N=7413) versus residents of a comparison neighborhood (Southern Boulevard, SB, N=3757). The relative hazard of CVD was estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model, with time from the start of the rezoning (3/22/2018) to the first CVD event (heart disease, heart failure, stroke) as the outcome and followed to end of data collection window (12/31/2024); adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, diabetes history, smoking status, insurance type, and neighborhood area deprivation index score. Results: The mean age of the sample was 70.6 years (SD 9.4). Approximately 68% were female and 54% used Medicaid or Medicare to pay for services. Kaplan-Meier estimates of the incidence-free probability showed a reduced risk of CVD in JA vs. SB residents. Three-year and five-year incidence-free probabilities were 93.3% and 89.2% in JA residents compared to 92.2% and 86.5% in SB residents, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.865 (95%CI: 0.775-0.965; p=0.010). Discussion: Mid-life and older adults living in an urban area undergoing a land use rezoning effort to increase affordable housing have a 13.5% lower risk of developing CVD than those living in a comparison neighborhood not undergoing the same rezoning efforts. These results provide further evidence that housing policies can influence cardiovascular health outcomes among residents.
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Chambers et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Initially CVD-free mid-life and older adults (n=11,170). Land use rezoning vs. Comparison neighborhood not undergoing rezoning was evaluated on First CVD event (heart disease, heart failure, stroke) 5-year incidence-free probability (HR 0.865, 95% CI 0.775-0.965, p=0.010). Living in a neighborhood undergoing land use rezoning was associated with a lower risk of incident cardiovascular disease compared to a non-rezoned neighborhood (HR 0.865; 95% CI 0.775-0.965; p=0.010).
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