Overview: Dr. Deborah Howe and graduate research assistant Mari Radford of Temple University are collaborating with Dr. Jennifer Dill of Portland State University to better understand the process of the adoption of innovative land use policies by local governments that leads to the creation of communities that allow for active, healthy lifestyles. This two year study is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation under their Active Living Research Program.

The first phase of the project involves a survey of Best Practice Communities. Using zoning that allows mixed land uses as an indicator of innovation, over 300 municipalities with mixed use projects built or under construction have been selected. These municipalities will be invited to participate in a web-based survey that examines various aspects of policy adoption and innovation including the impetus for change, the sources of information used and the relationship between the acceptance of mixed use zoning and other innovative actions.

In the second phase, a random web-based survey of municipalities from throughout the US will be conducted in order to ascertain the extent of, and potential for, innovative land use policy adoption. The final phase involves field visits to develop detailed case studies of three municipalities that have adopted particularly innovative land use policies.

Preliminary findings from this project will be shared at the Pennsylvania Planning Association annual conference in October 2007.