Research has begun to relate adverse health outcomes to the way communities are designed and built. One challenge is determining how to reintegrate health into planning and development processes. The article presents an overview of a community-university partnership known as the Capital Area Land Use and Health Resource Team, located in Michigan's tri-county region. The article argues that Extension agents are well placed to bridge the gap between planning and public health. Agents can facilitate greater community understanding of the relationship between land use and health, and help improve land use decision-making to create environments that support healthier lifestyles.
Bassett et al. (Mon,) studied this question.