ANALYZING ZIP CODE DATA

TO EXPOSE HEALTH INEQUITIES AND TARGET SOLUTIONS

RWJF’s Place Matters program in Cuyahoga County – home county of Cleveland, ravaged by job loss and housing stock deterioration -- funded partnerships focused on eliminating health disparities. 

The initiative defined health not as the absence of disease, but “where people live, work, learn, age and play. 

Health includes the social conditions one lives in, such as the jobs we do, the money we're paid, the schools we attend and the neighborhoods we live in, as well as our genes, our behaviors and our medical care.”

Statistics showed chilling numbers in the City of East Cleveland. Its poverty rate was 32 percent and the heart disease mortality rates was 32 percent higher than that of the nation. 

Taking a holistic approach, the team hosted two land use summits focused on integrating of health and equity into land use planning and community development decision-making.