Environmental Public Health Tracking: Community Design Data
Wisconsin Tracking provides information about community design in Wisconsin. Community design involves all of the human-made elements of a community that make up the physical characteristics of that community.
These elements include:
- Buildings, such as schools, workplaces, and homes
- Roads
- Parks and recreation areas
- Transportation systems
- Places to buy food
Explore definitions and explanations of terminology found on this webpage, like age-adjusted rate and confidence intervals.
Click the "About Data" button in the embedded view to see CDC's details about these data.
View data by clicking a topic below.
Frequently asked questions
The way we design and build our communities affects our physical and mental health. Healthy community design is planning and designing communities that make it easier for people to live healthy lives. Healthy community design can provide many advantages:
- Promote physical activity
- Improve air quality
- Lower risk of injuries
- Improve healthy eating habits
- Increase social connection and sense of community
- Reduce contributions to climate change
Public health problems in the U.S., such as motor vehicle-related injuries, obesity, physical inactivity, and breathing and heart problems related to air pollution are all influenced by the design of our communities.
Designing communities that encourage healthy choices is critical to improving the health and quality of life of community members.
Gathering data on elements of community design, such as motor vehicle-related fatalities and types of transportation to work, can help inform community design decisions. Multiple agencies monitor these elements and related environmental and health impacts to make sure that people live in healthy environments.
By tracking these elements of community design we are better able to assess whether people have access to:
- Public transportation, like buses or trains
- Sidewalks and bike paths
- Stores that sell food, especially those stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables
- Safe and energy efficient housing
- Parks and public spaces
CDC uses several sources to create these maps. Click the 'About Data' button in the upper right corner of the map to view this information.
- Access to parks and public elementary schools
- Commute time
- Motor vehicle-related fatalities
- Proximity of population to highways
There are numerous considerations to keep in mind when interpreting the data.
Please visit the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) National Tracking Program Indicators and Data webpage for additional information.
Select the content area from the drop down list, e.g., Community Design. Then select the specific indicator you are interested in from the drop down list, e.g., "Access to Parks and Public Elementary Schools."
Interested in environmental health data?
Join the environmental health listserv by sending an email to DHS Environmental Public Health Tracking at dhstracking@dhs.wisconsin.gov with the subject line "Join envhealth listserv."