US EPA

Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) are a systematic process to assess the potential positive and negative impacts of a program, policy, or decision, and provides strategies to maximize benefits and minimize burdens. A rapid HIA, an abbreviated form of HIA, was undertaken by the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) in partnership with EPA OBLR, with input from EPA Region 5, the City of Rockford, and the Land Revitalization Technical Assistance Contractor. EPA contractors conducted the HIA, which utilized a mixed methods approach, including qualitative and quantitative data analysis, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, scientific literature review, and analysis of stakeholder input from multiple efforts that have taken place in the area, to evaluate the potential health impacts of proposed neighborhood revitalization in the South Main Corridor Area.

This report documents the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) conducted to inform the neighborhood revitalization of the South Main Corridor Area in Rockford, Illinois. The HIA did not assess a specific revitalization strategy, program, policy, or decision, as one was not available at the time of the HIA, but rather examined evidence and examples of revitalization concepts being proposed for the South Main Corridor Area and their associations with public health impacts, positive and negative, with a particular emphasis on mental health and social determinants of health.

The report is organized by six health-relevant elements or determinants of health: Housing, Neighborhood and Built Environment, Parks and Greenspace, Crime and Safety, Employment and Economy, and Social and Cultural Well-being. The assessment identified the existing conditions in the study area related to these determinants of health, took into account community concerns and desires expressed in the City’s public meetings and interviews conducted as part of the Land Revitalization Technical Assistance Contract, and identified strategies that could be addressed through the neighborhood revitalization to protect and promote public health.

This Health Impact Assessment for a neighborhood in Rockford, Illinois addresses multiple health determinants related to proposed land revitalization efforts. Determinants include Housing; Neighborhood and Built Environment; Parks and Greenspace; Employment and Economy; Crime and Safety; and Social and Cultural Well-being. General strategies are offered to maximize the positive impacts and minimize the negative impacts of these determinants. The long term importance is to inform brownfield and land revitalization programs about their broader implications on public health, benefiting brownfield and land revitalization and similar neighborhood revitalization stakeholders.

This is the final report.

U.S. EPA. Southwest Rockford Revitalization Rapid Health Impact Assessment (Final Report). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-22/081, 2022.