Brookings Mountain West presents “Community-Level Action and Interventions to Improve Public Health – Tobacco Control, Obesity, and Community Dynamics” a talk by Ross A. Hammond, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies and Director, Center on Social Dynamics and Policy.

There is growing recognition bottom-up, community-level action may be one of the most effective ways to address complex problems (especially in public health). “Whole of community” interventions offer the potential to break through gridlock that can derail attempts at higher levels of policy scale to coordinate action across multiple areas and sectors. In this lecture, Hammond will present new research on the track record and potential of community-level changes to prevent obesity and tobacco use, covering both the promise and the potential challenges.