December 16, 2025
Economic Development
DATE: December 16, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Shasa Curl, City Manager
Gabino Arredondo, Project Manager
Nannette Beacham, Economic Development Director
Samantha Carr, Environmental Manager
Yahna Williamson, Management Analyst
SUBJECT: Health in all Policies (HiAP) 10 Year Report, 2025 FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact on the General Fund.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
April 15, 2014
December 15, 2015
September 29, 2020
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
On April 15, 2014, the Richmond City Council adopted
the Health in All Policies (HiAP) Strategy and Ordinance.
The ordinance requires a tri-annual report on the status of health equity in the City of Richmond and the progress of HiAP implementation. In partnership with U.C.
Berkeley and Center for Global Healthy Cities, a Health in All Policies 10-Year Report was created.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: RECEIVE the 2025 Richmond Health in all Policies (HiAP) 10-Year Report – Economic Development
Department (Yahna Williamson 510- 620-6574/Samantha
Carr 510-620-5407).
AGENDA
REPORT
December 16, 2025
DISCUSSION:
On April 15, 2014, the Richmond City Council unanimously adopted the Health in All Policies (HiAP) ordinance and strategy and on December 15, 2015, the ordinance was amended modifying the progress reporting period to tri-annually. The HiAP is an over- arching framework to guide city policy, practices, and partnerships that promote health and well-being for all residents. Its alignment with the General Plan 2030 Health and Wellness Element ensures that health equity remains a guiding principle in City decision-making, reinforcing Richmond’s commitment to creating complete, sustainable neighborhoods that promote physical, mental, and environmental well-being for all residents. All Richmond residents should have the opportunity to make choices that allow them to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their job, neighborhood of residence, level of education, immigration status, sexual orientation, or ethnic background.
HiAP starts from the premise that health and well-being begin “upstream” in neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and playgrounds, not a doctors’ office. While access to good quality, regular and affordable health care is essential and this helps with disease and injury management, too often however, it does not address upstream factors that lead to morbidity and mortality. What we know is that preventing disease, injury, stress, disability, and early death have to do with the factors in the built and social environment such as high-quality affordable housing, safe streets, good jobs, high performing schools, age-friendly parks and recreation spaces, cultural expression, and clean air. Three key ideas continue to shape Richmond’s approach to health equity:
(1) Structural Racism, (2) Toxic Stress, and (3) Targeted Universalism.
The HiAP ordinance, strategy, and reports focus on the six HiAP Intervention Areas:
Governance and Leadership, Economic Development and Education, Full Service and Safe Communities, Residential and Built Environment, Environmental Health and Justice, and Quality Accessible Health, Home, and Services. The HiAP 10-year report identifies metrics through program and department activities, population health indicators, and community perception of services and living conditions in Richmond.
The progress report uses the following methods for evaluation: interviews and focus groups, review of local health data, and survey data analysis.
Overall Trends
The following are brief highlights from the report. It is important to note the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting impact on health equity in Richmond.
Governance and Leadership
According to the Richmond Community Survey, 33 percent (%) of respondents believe the City does a good or excellent job at welcoming resident involvement in 2023, compared to 31 percent in 2013 (page 26).
December 16, 2025
Economic Development & Education
The ARPA Business Support Grant Program distributed $350,000 in funding to 48 small businesses, helping local entrepreneurs recover post-pandemic while strengthening Richmond’s economic base (page 34).
Unemployment decreased over the past decade — from 11.8 percent in 2013 to 7 percent in 2023, reflecting improved access to jobs and training opportunities. (page 32).
Full Service and Safe Communities
Richmond’s Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) has helped reduce gun violence to historic lows, saving lives, lowering trauma exposure, and improving residents’ sense of safety across neighborhoods, incomes, and racial/ethnic groups (page 42).
Residential & Built Environment
The Homekey Program brought in $14.5 million in funding to acquire and convert a motel into 49 units of permanent supportive housing for unhoused and extremely low-income residents (page 52).
In 2013, 53 percent of residents reported their neighborhood as good or excellent place to live, but 65 percent reported this in 2023 (page 53).
Environmental Health and Justice
Richmond exceeded its 2030 solar goal five years early, with 2,736 residential solar systems installed since 2017, surpassing the target of 1,010 systems. This achievement has lowered household energy costs, created local green jobs, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions (page 58).
The Richmond Rising Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) initiative secured $35 million in 2022 to fund neighborhood-level projects reducing GHG emissions and improving public health in the Iron Triangle, Santa Fe, and Coronado neighborhoods (page 63).
Quality & Accessible Health Homes & Services
The percentage of Richmond adults without health insurance dropped from 22.9 percent in 2013 to 13 percent in 2022, reflecting improved access to affordable care and coverage through programs like Covered California (page 70). The Senior Nutrition Program reopened in 2024, serving 350–400 meals per month, improving health outcomes and social connection among older adults (page 71).
SYNERGISTIC POLICIES:
The 2030 General Plan’s Community Health and Wellness Element provides a comprehensive policy foundation that aligns closely with the City’s HiAP framework.
Both emphasize addressing the social determinants of health—such as housing quality, environmental safety, access to parks and recreation, mobility, and economic opportunity—through integrated planning and policy development.
December 16, 2025
A clear HiAP–related goal, policy, and action in the 2030 General Plan’s Community Health and Wellness Element is Goal HW11: Leadership in Building Healthy Communities.
This goal directly supports the HiAP framework through the following:
Policy HW11.1 – Organizational Capacity for Change: Strengthen the City’s internal capacity to implement health-related policies and programs across departments, incorporating health and equity considerations into project reviews to maximize community benefits and reduce health impacts. Policy HW11.2 – Monitoring and Tracking: Collaborate with Contra Costa Health Services and regional partners to track health outcomes, assess policy effectiveness, and communicate progress to the public.
Action HW11.C – Health Tracking Program: Develop a City-wide program to measure health outcomes over time and consider publishing a Community Health Report Card to share progress with residents.
In addition, HiAP Strategy and Ordinance provide a synergistic framework integrated into the goals of the Climate Action Plan, Richmond Rising, and the Urban Greening Master Plan—all of which promote healthy, sustainable, and resilient communities through integrated planning, mobility, and environmental justice.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – DRAFT Health in All Policies 10 Year Progress Report, 2025