Under One Roof

Health begins well before the doctor’s office; it begins in homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities. In particular, our home – the place where we spend the most time – can either promote health or make health problems worse.

To ensure housing contributes to positive health for residents, planners, health departments, and advocates should work together to include healthy housing policies in their communities’ comprehensive plans. Comprehensive plans address a range of community issues and include specific “elements,” such as a “housing element,” that set forth goals, priorities, and policies for future development. 

ChangeLab Solutions developed Under One Roof: Model Healthy Housing Policies for Comprehensive Plans to make it easier for localities to address health in housing policy. Under One Roof discusses why health is vital to housing policy, outlines issues to consider when conducting a housing needs assessment, and provides specific health-promoting language communities can incorporate into their comprehensive plans.