Agenda - Council Work Session - 03/08/2022

Home

Federal Register/Vol. 87, No. 18/Thursday, January 27, 2022/Rules and Regulations 4373 that lacking adequate access to mortality and illness and increased The final rule includes enumerated affordable,healthy food or living in a well-being.197 Urban park use during eligible uses in disproportionately "food desert"may contribute to the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted communities for developing disparities in diet that influence health declined among lower-income neighborhood features that promote outcomes,including contributing to pre- individuals.198 Encouraging physical improved health and safety outcomes, existing conditions that increased risk activity can also play a role in health such as parks,green spaces,recreational for severe COVID-19 outcomes. These outcomes, as a sedentary lifestyle is a facilities, sidewalks,pedestrian safety commenters cited public health research risk factor for chronic diseases and more features like crosswalks,201 projects that finding"clear evidence for disparities in severe COVID-19 outcomes.199 Parks, increase access to healthy foods, food access in the United States by recreation facilities, and sidewalks can streetlights,neighborhood cleanup,and income and race."193 promote healthier living environments other projects to revitalize public Some commenters also suggested that by allowing for safe and socially spaces. Recipients seeking to use funds neighborhood environment is connected distanced recreation during the COVID— for capital expenditures should refer to to other public health outcomes,like 19 pandemic. the section Capital Expenditures in mental health and public safety. For Additionally,food insecurity rates, General Provisions: Other,which example,some research suggests that which are higher among lower-income describes additional eligibility living in neighborhoods with green households and households of color, standards that apply to uses of funds for space and tree cover correlates with doubled among all households and capital expenditures. improved mental health outcomes.194 tripled among households with children b. Vacant or abandoned properties. Finally, some commenters argued that during the onset of COVID-19 from As discussed above,the interim final activities like installing streetlights, February 2020 to May 2020.200 rule included enumerated eligible uses greening or cleanup of public spaces or Improving healthy food access supports for building stronger communities land, and other efforts to revitalize public health,particularly among lower- through investments in housing and public spaces would support improved income households and households of neighborhoods in disproportionately public safety.195196 color that face disproportionate impacted communities. The interim These commenters recommended that outcomes. final rule also posed a question of Treasury include as an enumerated Treasury Response:Treasury whether other potential uses in this eligible use in disproportionately recognizes the connection between category, specifically"rehabilitation of impacted communities projects to neighborhood built environment and blighted properties or demolition of develop neighborhood features that physical health outcomes as discussed abandoned or vacant properties," promote improved health and safety in the research and analysis provided by address the public health or economic outcomes, such as parks,green spaces, commenters,including risk factors that impacts of the pandemic. recreational facilities, sidewalks, may have contributed to Public Comment.Several commenters pedestrian safety features like disproportionate COVID-19 health argued that programs or services to crosswalks,projects that increase access impacts in low-income communities. address vacant or abandoned property to healthy foods, streetlights, The final rule also recognizes that the Would respond to the public health and neighborhood cleanup,and other public health impacts of the pandemic negative economic impacts of the projects to revitalize public spaces. are broader than just the COVID-19 pandemic in disproportionately Background:Investments in disease itself and include substantial impacted communities. Some neighborhood features,including parks, impacts on mental health and public commenters cited research suggesting recreation facilities, sidewalks,and safety challenges like rates of violent that living near such property is healthy food access, can work to correlated with worse physical health improve physical and mental health crime,which are correlated with a and mental health outcomes,noted that outcomes.Allowing people access to neighborhood s built environment and such properties pose an environmental nature,including parks,has been features. As such,neighborhood features hazard, or argued that such properties connected to decreased levels of that promote improved health and present a barrier to economic recovery. safety outcomes respond to the pre- These commenters suggested that 193 J Beaulac,E Kristjansson,S Cummins,A existing disparities that contributed to renovation or demolition of vacant or systematic review of food deserts,1966-2007,Prev COVID-19 s disproportionate impacts abandoned property could benefit Chronic Dis 2009;6(3):A105,http://www.cdc.govl on low-income communities. communityhealth d raise property pcd/issues/2009/jul/08_0163.htm. an p p y 194 See,e.g.,Yijun Zhang et al.The Association values. Other commenters between Green Space and Adolescents'Mental 197 See,e.g.,American Public Health Association, recommended that Treasury include an Well-Being:A Systematic Review.International Improving Health and Wellness through Access to Nature(November 5,2013),https://www.apha.org/ enumerated eligible use for the journal of environmental research and public health vol policies-and-advocacy/public-health-policy- operation of land banks that redevelop vol.17,18 6640(Sep.11 2020),doi:1o.3390/.1 18 statements/policy-database/2014/07/08/09/18/ or renew vacant properties and land. 6640;EC South,BC Hohl,MC Kondo,JM MacDonald,CC Branas,Effect of Greening Vacant improving-health-and-wellness-through-access-to- Treasury Response:As noted Land on Mental Health of Community-Dwellingnature. throughout the final rule,the pandemic Adults:A Cluster Randomized Trial,JAMA Netw 198 LR Larson et al.,Urban Park Use During the underscored the importance of safe, Open.2018;1(3):e180298(2018),available at: COVID-19 Pandemic:Are Socially Vulnerable doi:1o.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0298. Communities Disproportionately Impacted?,Front. affordable housing and healthy 195 See,e.g.,Yanqing Xu,Cong Fu,Eugene Sustain.Cities 3:710243(2021),https://doi.orgl Kennedy,Shanhe Jiang,Samuel Owusu-Agyemang, 10.3389/frsc.2021.710243. 201 However,Treasury cautions recipients that The impact of street lights on spatial-temporal 199 JP Despres,Severe COVID-19 outcomes—the general infrastructure development,including street patterns of crime in Detroit,Michigan,Cities, role of physical activity.Nat Rev Endocrinol 17, or road construction,remains a generally ineligible Volume 79,Pages 45-52,ISSN 0264-2751(2018), 451-452(2021).https://doi.org/10.1038ls4l574- use of funds under the final rule.Sidewalks and https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.02.021. 021-00521-1. pedestrian safety should be the predominant 196 A.Chalfin,B.Hansen,J.Lerner et al., 20O Caroline George and Adie Tomer,Beyond component of uses of funds in this category.While Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design: `food deserts':America needs a new approach to projects may include ancillary construction needed Evidence from a Randomized Experiment of Street mapping food,Brookings Institution(August 17, to execute the predominant component,a project Lighting in New York City,Journal of Quantitative 2021),https://www.brookings.edu/research/beyond- that predominantly involves street construction or Criminology(2021),https://doi.org/10.loo7/s10940- food-deserts-am erica-n eeds-a-n ew-approach-to- repair to benefit vehicular traffic would be 020-09490-6. mapping food-insecurity/. ineligible.