MetroHealth Collaborates with Cleveland Clinic, Western Reserve Land Conservancy to Advance Health Equity

Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) is thrilled to announce the approval of a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of Minority Health. This four-year grant will fund the partnership's groundbreaking project, "Restoring Health Equity and Resilience to Cleveland Through Vacant Land Improvements."

The project, developed in collaboration with population health researchers from The MetroHealth System and Cleveland Clinic, targets four Cleveland neighborhoods: Buckeye-Woodhill, Hough, St. Clair-Superior, and Glenville. These communities, historically impacted by environmental and social disinvestment, will benefit from comprehensive strategies designed to improve key Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).

The initiative will focus on cleaning and greening vacant land in these neighborhoods to address environmental injustices such as widespread vacancy, low tree canopy, and poor air quality. By enhancing neighborhood environments and fostering stronger social and community connections, the project aims to improve cardiovascular health outcomes for residents. Cleveland Neighborhood Progress will assist the project team, conducting outreach with its network of community development corporations in the target neighborhoods to mobilize green development of vacant land.

The initiative aligns with two Leading Health Indicators (LHIs) identified in Healthy People 2030:

• Increasing the percentage of adults who meet current minimum guidelines for aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening activity.
• Reducing the number of adults with hypertension by helping them control their blood pressure.

Selected SDOH Domains:

• Neighborhood and Built Environment: Promoting health and safety by improving air and water quality and reducing violent crime in targeted communities.
• Social and Community Context: Strengthening social networks and community support to encourage healthy behaviors and protect residents from discrimination and exclusion.

Impact and Vision: This project seeks to produce both immediate and long-term health benefits. Cleaner air, lower temperatures, and reduced chronic disease burden are among the immediate outcomes expected. Over time, the initiative will generate actionable data and insights, providing a replicable model for other cities facing similar challenges with racial health equity, climate change impacts, and population loss.

"Western Reserve Land Conservancy is committed to transforming Cleveland's neighborhoods into healthier, climate resilient communities," said Isaac Robb, Vice President of Planning, Research, & Urban Projects at WRLC and Principal Investigator of the project. "This grant enables us to deepen our work in collaboration with local partners and residents, directly addressing the environmental and social disparities that have long impacted these neighborhoods."

"A core part of MetroHealth's mission and vision centers on fostering healthier communities through discovery and innovation," said MetroHealth researcher Kristen Berg, PhD, who is partnering on the project with Adam Perzynski, PhD, another researcher from MetroHealth's Population Health and Equity Research Institute. Both are also on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "Thriving and nourishing green space is a critical social determinant of health, and our innovative collaboration with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Cleveland Clinic allows us to focus on the neighborhood-built environment as a powerful tool for promoting health equity."

"We are excited to join this unique and impactful project in partnership with WRLC," said Jarrod Dalton, Ph.D., Director of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Populations Health Research and Associate Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. "Collaborative efforts from various sectors are crucial to improve health in neighborhoods. In addition to helping address Cleveland's sparse tree canopy, this project is innovative from a public health research perspective. We are proud to participate in this significant initiative."

"This investment in green spaces will benefit residents of these historic neighborhoods as well as the revitalization efforts already underway on Cleveland's east side," said Tania Menesse, President and CEO of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. "Increasing the tree canopy and green spaces for residents to enjoy will help address long-standing inequities in the east side's redlined neighborhoods."

"Racism is not only a social or moral issue but also a critical public health concern," said Matt Zone, Senior Vice President and Director of the Thriving Communities program at Western Reserve Land Conservancy. "Investing in urban environments is investing in a healthier, brighter future for everyone."

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