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This project aims to establish relationships with traditional brownfield stakeholders, develop a tool to assess health equity for brownfield clean-up and redevelopment, and share findings for strategy development.
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Multnomah County Brownfield Initiative: Mapping Health Equity October 13, 2015 Corvallis, Oregon Matt Hoffman, MPH Caislin Firth, MPH
Project Objectives: • Establish relationships with traditional brownfield stakeholders • Develop a tool to assess health equity and inform prioritization for brownfield clean up and redevelopment efforts • Share findings and develop strategy for using the tool
Background • What is a brownfield? • A former industrial or commercial site where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination • Why are they significant to the health of our built environment? • Potential human health threat • Opportunity for infill development in areas where developable land is scarce
Characterization of Brownfields in Multnomah County • As many as 2,300 properties covering approximately 6,300 acres (7 percent of all commercial, mixed use and industrial zoned land within the metro UGB) • Approximately ½ are within 1000 ft of sensitive environmental areas • Three times more likely to be located in underserved area (Metro 2012) Metro Brownfields Scoping Project (2012): http://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/brownfields_scoping_final_report_november_2012.pdf
Tool Development: Outline Health equity composite measure • Purpose: Develop a GIS-based tool to assess health equity across Multnomah County and inform prioritization for brownfield clean up and redevelopment efforts. • Objective: • Identify health indicators and construct a health equity composite measure that identifies areas of health inequity within the county • Overlay health equity composite with brownfield site map to identify brownfield sites in areas experiencing health inequity
Selection of Data Indicators • Initial list was populated based on input from community based organizations and traditional brownfield stakeholders • Selected indicators that were available at the census tract level or smaller • Prioritized locally-collected indicators • Incorporated components of EPA’s definition of vulnerable populations (youth, seniors, poverty, communities of color, prevalence of chronic disease)
Constructing Health Equity Composite Health equity composite = Communities of color + youth + seniors + free lunch + BMI + Asthma + CVD + Diabetes + Walkability + Air quality + Home value + income change
Selecting Potential Brownfield Sites • Sites registered to DEQ Environmental Cleanup Site Information database • Contained on undeveloped Multnomah county tax lots Portland Metro ECSI (2015): 1,351 sites Multnomah county taxlots (2013): 273,949 lots ECSI sites in Multnomah county: 815 sites Undeveloped tax lots in Multnomah county: 18,178 lots ECSI sites on undeveloped tax lots in Multnomah County: 94 sites
Next Steps • Advocate: health equity informs brownfield site selection • Collaborate with community organizations in areas of high health equity need • Use findings from tool to bolster application for federal cleanup funds by demonstrating a community benefit • Refine tool • Update health indicators • Expand potential brownfield site data • Make tool user-friendly—web-based platform
Questions? Matt Hoffman, MPH Multnomah County Health Department Healthy Environments Matt.Hoffman@multco.us 503.988.7848 Caislin Firth, MPH Program Design & Evaluation Services Multnomah County Health Department & Oregon Public Health Division Caislin.L.Firth@state.or.us 971.673.0188