By Maria Polletta, The Republic | azcentral.com
“Ask yourself a question,” public-health policy buff David Dube urged the Mesa mayor and council during their June 16 meeting: “Am I healthy?”
“It turns out that the answer to that question is less likely to be (centered) on the quality of your health care than on the quality of your environment, of your community,” said Dube, a consultant for Maricopa County. “From this view, it’s not just the public-health department that does public health. It’s transportation policy; it’s economic-development policy; it’s housing policy; it’s education policy.”
Mesa’s working General Plan — a 229-page draft to guide the city’s decision-making on a broad set of issues through 2040 — is the city’s chance to create conditions that promote active, healthy residents, Dube said.
