ABSTRACT
Community health has focused historically on reducing risk factors, decreasing acute and chronic disease burdens and injury occurrence, and promoting health. A healthy community is “one that continuously creates and improves both its physical and social environments, helping people to support one another in aspects of daily life and to develop to their fullest potential”. Healthy communities are places that are designed to offer a range of programs that promote healthy lifestyles and behaviors. Designing for community health does not happen in a vacuum. It is most effective when community organizations and design professionals collaborate to maximize impact across the many determinants of health. Collaboration among healthcare systems, government departments, and philanthropic groups can bring health-focused programs and design elements into care facilities and campuses. The essential typology for creating a healthy community begins with the transformation of established healthcare facilities into health campuses that address specific community health needs.
