provide strategies for individuals and communities to improve environmental health.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

SHOW LESS Assess basic environmental health principles, theories, and issues. Define the term environmental health. Assess how healthy cities relate to environmental health. Analyze obstacles for a city in becoming a healthy city. Describe the financial issues involved in creating a healthy city. Analyze how environmental health is an individual concern. Analyze how environmental health is a global concern. Apply personal and professional decisions based upon an understanding of environmental risks. Describe how a city could become prepared for disasters. Assess benefits of developing a healthy city to one’s self, family, and community. Communicate effectively in a variety of formats. The purpose of this assessment is to consider aspects of what makes a healthy city and to integrate your research to provide strategies for individuals and communities to improve environmental health.

To begin, suppose you are working with your city planner to develop a healthy city initiative for your city (or a city near you). You are tasked with developing a report that will be presented to your city council.

Craft a 4–5-page written document that could be presented to your city council, addressing the following points:

What is environmental health? Why is creating a healthy city important to environmental health? What could your city do to become a healthy city? What would be the obstacles to change, and why are they obstacles? What financial issues would have to be considered? How would these changes benefit you, your family, and your community? What could your city do to become better prepared for disasters, both natural and human-made? Why should environmental health be considered an individual concern? Why should it be considered a global concern? What could you or your family do—in your home, your neighborhood, and your workplace—to reduce your personal impact on the environmental health of your city?

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

For the following questions about disaster preparation, refer to the “Make a Plan” and “Test Your Readiness Quotient” resources linked in the Resources under the Required Resources heading.

What kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area? How would you be notified of an emergency situation in your community? How many of the Readiness Quotient Test questions would you be able to answer as “Yes”? What steps could you take to achieve 10 out of 10 “Yes” answers? What is your disaster plan? For the following questions about your personal impact on environmental health, consider the course as a whole.