Sec. 1006. Additional research on the relationship between the built environment and the health of community residents
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In this section, the term eligible institution means a public or private nonprofit institution that submits to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the Secretary ) and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (in this section referred to as the Administrator ) an application for a grant under the grant program authorized under subsection (b)(2) at such time, in such manner, and containing such agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary and Administrator may require.
In this section, the term health includes— levels of physical activity; degree of mobility due to factors such as musculoskeletal diseases, arthritis, and obesity; consumption of nutritional foods; rates of crime; air, water, and soil quality; risk of injury; accessibility to health care services; levels of educational attainment; and other indicators as determined appropriate by the Secretary. The Secretary, in collaboration with the Administrator, shall provide grants to eligible institutions to conduct and coordinate research on the built environment and its influence on individual and population-based health.
The Secretary shall support research that— investigates and defines the causal links between all aspects of the built environment and the health of residents; examines— the extent of the impact of the built environment (including the various characteristics of the built environment) on the health of residents; the variance in the health of residents by— location (such as inner cities, inner suburbs, and outer suburbs); and population subgroup (including children, the elderly, the disadvantaged); or the importance of the built environment to the total health of residents, which is the primary variable of interest from a public health perspective; is used to develop— measures to address health and the connection of health to the built environment; and efforts to link the measures to travel and health databases; and distinguishes carefully between personal attitudes and choices and external influences on observed behavior to determine how much an observed association between the built environment and the health of residents, versus the lifestyle preferences of the people that choose to live in the neighborhood, reflects the physical characteristics of the neighborhood; and identifies or develops effective intervention strategies to promote better health among residents with a focus on behavioral interventions and enhancements of the built environment that promote increased use by residents; and in developing the intervention strategies under clause (i), ensures that the intervention strategies will reach out to high-risk populations, including racial and ethnic minorities, low-income urban and rural communities, and children.
In providing assistance under the grant program authorized under paragraph (2), the Secretary and the Administrator shall give priority to research that incorporates— minority-serving institutions as grantees; interdisciplinary approaches; or the expertise of the public health, physical activity, nutrition and health care (including child health), urban planning, and transportation research communities in the United States and abroad.