Local Policy

Policy innovations often begin at the local level—in cities and counties—and

local policy serves a pivotal role in preventing illness, injury, and health inequity 

in the first place. Local policies can change environmental conditions that adversely 

affect groups of people by stimulating new social norms and redistributing power, 

resources, and opportunities across sectors. Policy change at the local level 

can be a catalyst for broader transformation. Regional successes can create 

pushback against broader state, national, and global forces that reproduce 

inequities. Successful efforts snowball from locale to locale, serving as models 

for other communities and for state and national initiatives. Thus, local policies 

can not only create positive impacts on health within specific communities, 

they also can inspire a movement elsewhere. To learn more about current local 

policy efforts, visit the ENACT Local Policy Database.