About PLACE
The PLACE Program recognizes that our community and our environment affect our health. The design and structure of our cities, communities, neighborhoods, work sites, schools, and streets can impact how much physical activity we get, what we eat, and the quality of the air we breathe. How we choose to design or improve various aspects of our environment plays an important role in preventing many chronic conditions - such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and asthma - whose risk factors include physical inactivity, poor nutrition and exposure to air pollution. As more Angelinos face the threat and reality of developing these chronic conditions, the PLACE Program supports the development of healthier communities by fostering policy change that improves the places where people live, work and play.
Background
Recognizing that chronic disease prevention is a crucial element in protecting the public's health, in August of 2005 the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors created a new Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention within the Department of Public Health, bringing several previously existing Public Health programs together into one division. At that time, funding was allocated for a new planning and policy development program within the Division, and as a result, the PLACE Program was launched in November of 2006.
Built Environment Grants
In August 2007, the PLACE Program released a Request For Initiatives (RFI), the first of its kind in the Department of Public Health, to address the influence of land use and community design on health. The RFI called for proposals that promote active environments through policy change and accompanying physical projects. Beginning in July 2008, five grantees, including community based organizations and cities, received funding for three years to support their proposed policy and physical project initiative. Examples of proposed policy projects include creating and revising bicycle and pedestrian master plans and incorporating a health element into a city's general plan.
