YEAR THREE :
1 . Promoted the Healthy Weight Community Champion recognition program to all city planners , managers and elected officials .
2 . Presented best practices for health in the built environment and healthy community initiatives at the 2015 Florida Recreation and Park Association Agency Summit as well as the State Conference .
RESULTS
• The City of Lakeland , the City of Winter Haven , and Polk County were again recognized as Healthy Weight Community Champions in 2015 . All cited their work with Building a Healthier Polk in the application process .
• Winter Haven , Lakeland and Polk County governments passed proclamations stating their commitment to creating and maintaining healthy communities .
• The city of Bartow created a free fitness opportunity for residents . The Winter Haven , Frostproof and Lakeland events continued .
3 . Partnered with Central Florida chapter of the Florida Recreation and Park Association to plan a seminar titled “ My Impact of Public Health .” The purpose was to show recreation and planning professionals how their work can be a part of combating public health problems in their community . summary
Polk County and all 17 municipalities made great strides in 2012 when they sign a joint resolution regarding Complete Street policies .
We discovered that many partnering organizations are working toward progress in this area . This strategy has served to reinforce the connection between the built environment and the health of residents and in recognizing best practices that have been implemented by local governments .
This work has helped reach a broader audience of professions and community members / advocates with the awareness of this correlation between health and the built environment .
The work of this strategy area will continue as part of Polk Vision ’ s Infrastructure Alignment Team , comprised of city and county planners all working closely with the Transportation Planning Organization . Opportunity exists to continue to help these groups in their effort to prioritize projects that make significant health related improvements for residents throughout Polk County .
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