Gresham gets planning award

The Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA) has awarded the City of Gresham a Certificate of Merit for including Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) amendments in the city's Comprehensive Plan.

The HEAL amendments work to increase access to healthy food and offer opportunities for physical activity to everyone in Gresham.

According to Steve White, Chair of the OAPA Awards Committee, the city won because their's was a high quality effort, it can be easily replicated in other places, and it was a well-documented process.

White notes that "For most planners, including health is still a really new concept."

According to White, the Gresham amendments demonstrate how including health doesn't take a whole new approach. Gresham planners successfully worked healthy changes into existing processes. He adds that with Gresham as an example, other cities can think about making healthy changes from a traditional planning perspective.

The Gresham City Council approved the amendments to the city's Comprehensive Plan in February. The Comprehensive Plan is the city's policy statement and coordinated land-use plan that guides long-range decisions related to transportation, recreation, and housing.

Gresham received its award on May 11th at the annual OAPA conference.

• cppwgrant's blog