Advancing Holistic Well-Being Measures in Atlanta and Cities Throughout the United States
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Report Publish Date: January 1, 2021
This report examines efforts to measure wellbeing in Atlanta and other U.S. cities.
Primary Takeaways
The authors’ findings include the following:
- Cities’ efforts to measure wellbeing are often caused by an inciting incident, either positive or negative.
- City leaders say standard public health measures and data sets are inadequate to measure wellbeing in cities.
- Cities involve both communities and city government in the process.
- Cities have taken different approaches to measuring wellbeing.
- City leaders are reluctant to use subjective, self-reported measures of wellbeing.
- Wellbeing data are core to equity efforts and directly inform policymaking.
- Finding appropriate measures, funding, and messaging are challenges for cities.
Overview and Objectives
National League of Cities and Oxford University wanted to understand how cities are measuring wellbeing as a foundational step toward health equity.
Hypothesis or Approach
In Atlanta, the authors conducted a scan and risk assessment by interviewing 13 stakeholders from community-based and social services organizations. They also conducted community conversations in three metro Atlanta communities.
The authors also interviewed nine subject matter experts and leaders in Green Bay, Wisc.; Louisville, Ky.; Tacoma, Wash.; Santa Monica, Calif.; and Kansas City, Mo.
How This Influences Change
“Based on this exploration of city-level efforts to measure wellbeing,” the authors write, “a number of municipalities across the country are shifting the way they think about progress, broadening from economic measures alone to a comprehensive idea of wellbeing for all people.”
Research: Go Deeper
With more than 80% of United States residents living in urban areas, developing comparable measures of wellbeing for American cities is a critical step to advance policy changes and investments that improve health and equity. Accordingly, the National League of Cities (NLC) in partnership with the Well-being Research Centre at The University of Oxford, sought to establish city-level wellbeing data to support a mindset shift from singular economic measures to a broader understanding of all the factors that influence well-being. Our aim is to support the development of a ‘north star’ that will guide cities currently engaged in equitable and comprehensive policy and systems change efforts towards a holistic framework. Our vision is to improve the lives of city residents by collecting the highest-quality data grounded in residents’ views and to engage local officials and community stakeholders to make evidence-based decisions informed by data.
To this end, NLC and Oxford embarked on a dual effort aimed at a pilot in metropolitan Atlanta, while also considering a broader set of emerging models spurred by cities and national thought leaders to understand the potential for spread and scale. What follows includes our key learnings from this effort, along with recommendations to support future wellbeing measurement in cities throughout the United States.
National League of Cities, 2021
Research Team
This study and report was conducted and created by:
- National League of Cities and Oxford University
Research to Explore
Advancing Collective Wellbeing
Promoting Policy Tools That Advance Health and Racial Equity
