Healthy Neighborhoods
Healthy, vibrant neighborhoods
Neighborhoods are the fabric of community—providing a sense of place and identity while also connecting residents to daily needs such as healthy foods, safe parks and sidewalks, high quality schools, jobs, and opportunities for social connections. Unfortunately, due to a variety of factors, not all neighborhoods are created equal, resulting in disparities in the health behaviors and outcomes of residents throughout Yellowstone County.
Resident-driven planning
In summer 2016, the Healthy By Design Coalition began an exciting new approach to community health in partnership with South Side leaders, residents, and community organizations. Coalition members and neighborhood leaders held several public engagement activities to seek answers to the question, what would make the South Side a healthier, more vibrant place? This resulted in a community-driven Healthy Neighborhood Plan, vetted and affirmed by residents in 2017, that sought to bolster the Bright Side of the Tracks. This plan focused on two key strategies – increased access to healthy, affordable food throughout the year and a stronger sense of pride through various placemaking and revitalization projects.
Since fall 2017, our Coalition has worked closely with South Side leaders, residents, and community partners to implement those goals funded in part by the Kresge Foundation. Our commitment to the Bright Side of the Tracks continues, even as this first healthy neighborhood plan inspires others.
In 2023 the Bright Side Clean Up Planning Guide was created to share the process of community-led clean up efforts to be adopted for other neighborhoods across Billings and Yellowstone County. This resource outlines the background, process, timeline, resources, and best practices for our successful clean up in May of 2023, and how to replicate the efforts elsewhere.
Healthy neighborhoods across Yellowstone County
Having developed Healthy Neighborhoods into a core strategy of our 2020-2023 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), we aim to expand this initiative and increase the number of active healthy neighborhood plans in Yellowstone County.
Mobilize the MAGIC City is a creative placemaking initiative led by the City of Billings with support from Healthy By Design to create vibrant, engaging public spaces that promote health, community connection, walkability, and neighborhood pride.
Through this initiative, the City of Billings partnered with Healthy By Design, Billings Arts Association, and the Triaa program of the Native American Development Corporation with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to transform underutilized spaces into inviting areas that encourage active lifestyles, social interaction, and local identity. Mobilize the MAGIC City artist-in-resident, Terri Porta, implemented two creative placemaking hubs along Billings’ first neighborhood bikeway, with artist Mariah Gladstone adding a third indigenous identity-focused hub. Each project contributes to a sense of belonging and accessibility for all residents. Explore the Mobilize the MAGIC City playbook to learn more about best practices and lessons learned to improved quality of life with creative placemaking, and develop a community framework to continue the promotion and creative of public art.
