The City of San Luis Obispo is thrilled to announce that it has been selected to be included in the City Health Dashboard’s Put Us on the Map Challenge, aimed at expanding access to valuable health data for smaller cities across the U.S. Starting this summer, residents will be able to view and use the Dashboard, a free, online resource designed to provide city- and neighborhood-level data to help build healthier and more equitable communities.
The City Health Dashboard includes over 40 regularly updated metrics, such as opioid deaths, rent burden, housing with potential lead risk, smoking, walkability, life expectancy and park access, among others. This data, specific to city and neighborhood boundaries, equips communities and city leaders with actionable insights to improve the health and well-being of everyone in the community. While the platform is not designed for ranking cities, it is used to bring understanding and collaboration by allowing city leaders to better identify and address local health needs.
“Joining the City Health Dashboard gives us a powerful tool to better understand the health challenges facing our community and consider these challenges as we create policies and programs that contribute to a healthier City,” said Community Development Director, Timothea Tway. “It also provides a unique opportunity to compare our data with other cities to learn from their experiences.”
The Dashboard was developed by New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine Department of Population Health with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Since its launch in 2018, the Dashboard has grown to include data on over 970 U.S. cities, encompassing all cities with populations over 50,000 and a growing number of smaller communities. The platform’s ongoing updates include adding new measures, multi-year data, improved visualizations and easier access via an Application Programming Interface.
This summer, San Luis Obispo and its residents will be able to view and interact with the Dashboard, marking an exciting step forward in our efforts to build a healthier, more equitable community.