Partnerships Among Community Development, Public Health, and Health Care Could Improve the Well-Being of Low-Income People

The community development “industry”—a network of nonprofit service providers, real estate developers, financial institutions, foundations, and government—draws on public subsidies and other financing to transform impoverished neighborhoods into better-functioning communities. Although such activity positively affects the “upstream” causes of poor health, the community development industry rarely collaborates with the health sector or even considers health effects in its work. We propose a four-point plan to help ensure that existing and future collaborations achieve positive outcomes and sustainable progress for residents and investors alike.