The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development in collaboration with a number of Public Health Units from across Ontario has just released "Healthy Rural Communities Tool Kit - A Guide for Rural Municipalities”.  Developed under the direction of Dr. Wayne Caldwell, this new tool kit identifies land use and development strategies to enhance the rural built environment and contribute to positive quality of life/health outcomes. The tool kit brings a rural lens to issues that are often viewed from an urban perspective. Numerous examples and innovative practices from across the province are profiled. This tool kit recognizes many characteristics associated with rural communities including a low density population, a declining population in some areas, aging citizens, youth out migration, rural land uses, and an economy that is significantly different from that of urban Ontario. The tool kit includes the following objectives:

• To identify existing effective land use planning policies and models of practice for healthy rural built environments.
• To recognize the benefits of a coordinated approach to rural planning and development that uses a range of regulatory and non-regulatory tool.
• To identify innovative land use planning policies and initiatives that can contribute to healthy communities and healthy populations.

For more information on this project or the accompanying literature please visit:  www.ruralhealthycommunities.ca
This tool kit was made possible through a Locally Driven Collaborative Project, funded by Public Health Ontario.