Health probability sums up systemic influences on physical and mental well-being and the likelihood of their impacts. Health is personal, health is public and when it comes to livability, health is intersectional. From our gene code to our zip code, our planet to our policies, our relationship to ourselves and others and the epigenetics of our experiences, many factors contribute to living a healthy life.
“City programs, plans and policies shape our perspectives, our possibilities and our personal health.”
Everyday livability describes the conditions that create a community’s quality of life—including the built and natural environments, economic prosperity, social stability and equity, health probability, educational opportunity, and cultural, entertainment and recreation possibilities.
How do you see your city? How does it make you feel? How does it shape your perspectives, your possibilities and your personal health? What roles in your daily life would be easier if things were different? What would an urban ecosystem of care look like for you?
Identify plans, services and government-funded programs in your area and draw the connection between them and the choices elected officials make. Who is making the decisions you want to see in your community? Your state? Your country?
Policy influences the health probability of society by establishing a framework that creates access to the healthy living patterns that enrich our common humanity. Voting is how you use your voice to choose the people who create the programs, plans and policies that provide the systems of support for daily life—your everyday livability. Your vote is your voice. Speak up.
