With a focus on the connection between civic health and thriving people and places, the new 2023 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps (CHR&R) Report brings actionable data, evidence, guidance and stories to support community-led efforts to grow community power and improve health equity. The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI) created CHR&R for communities across the nation, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report and data may be informative to communities working to become more age- and dementia friendly.

The report authors look at two elements of “civic health.”

• CIVIC INFRASTRUCTURE, which includes the spaces such as schools, parks and libraries that help us stay connected and policies and practices that foster belonging, making civic participation possible.
• CIVIC PARTICIPATION, which includes the ways people engage in community life to improve conditions and shape the community’s future, whether through political activities such as voting and advocacy, or community activities such as volunteering and mentoring.

The report finds that civic infrastructure and the opportunity to live long and well varies across U.S. counties. Civic infrastructure varies across U.S. counties and regions. Counties in the Northeast, Midwest and West have more available and resourced civic infrastructure (including access to civic spaces and information such as broadband, libraries, newspapers, social associations, parks and schools). These counties often also have more social and economic opportunity.

For more information, see the full report and data here.