Title: A Systematic Approach to Tackling Blight in SmallTown America
1 A Systematic Approach to Tackling Blight in
SmallTown America
- Mary Helen Smith MPH CPH REHS RS
- Deputy Director of Environmental Health
- District Board of Health
- Mahoning County Ohio
2Vacant Abandoned Properties
- National Issues
- Since WWII achievement of the American Dream
- 2.2 million blighted properties in the United
States - Increased environmental health hazards
- Local Issues City of Campbell
- Population 8537 income level 32775
- Code enforcement failure
- Conflicting regulations impediment
3Systems Thinking Approach to Problem Solving
- A holistic approach to problem solving
- Uses development models to diagram system problems
4Problem Statement
- Why is there difficulty and reluctance for small
communities such as the City of Campbell Ohio
to engage in sustainable redevelopment of
blighted areas in their communities?
5Vacant Abandoned Property Variables
- of vacant abandoned properties
- Health impacts regulatory constraints
- Economic Stability
- Safety issues
- Emigration
- Knowledge skill ability
- Political capital
6Behavior Over Time Graph of Key Variables
7System Thinking ApproachUsing Archetypes
- Archetype
- A Systems Thinking tool that depicts common
challenges in a system - A diagram of casual loops of typical and
problematic systems - Archetypes Used
- Shifting the Burden
- Drifting Goals
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13Implementation
14 Vacant Abandoned Property Action Plan
- Program Goal
- To improve the livability and increase
sustainable redevelopment - Health Problem
- Negative impact on the environmental physical
mental and social health of the community
15Action Plan Outcome Objective
- By December 31 2015 vacant abandoned property
will be reduced by 95 of the 2008 baseline - Determinant
- Quantity of vacant abandoned properties inside
the city limits will be nominal
16Action Plan Impact Objective
- By December 31 2010 70 of the vacant and
abandoned properties in the City of Campbell will
be either demolished or restored to livable
conditions
17Action Plan Contributing Factors
- Lack of public awareness of health benefits of
livable city - Lack of resources to create a master
redevelopment plan - Inability of homeowners to obtain affordable
loans - Conflicting regulatory obstacles
18Results
- This vacant and abandoned property initiative
will be a long and involved process. - Outcomes accomplished
- Raised awareness of environmental health
monitoring components - Decreased the number of blighted properties via
the short term solution
19Conclusion
- Vacant abandoned properties have decreased the
livability of communities - Short term solutions allow immediate relief but
do not resolve the problem - Intermediate solutions allow relief requires
some planning - Housing Economic Recovery Act of 2008
20Conclusion
- Longterm strategic planning encourages
sustainable practices and decreases environmental
public health problems - A System Thinking approach provided a new
innovative way to look at environmental health
issues of community blight
21Essential Public Health Services Addressed
22Ten Essential Public Health Services
23Acknowledgements
- John Sarisky CDC
- Kate Wright St. Louis Univ. School of Public
Health - Dwayne Roadcap Mentor
- Matthew Stefanak DBOHMC Health Commissioner
- John E. Dill Mayor City of Campbell Ohio
- Pathfinder Teammates
- Raymond Delaney
- Peggy Keller
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