General plans can be tools to help guide development, and the general planning process can be an effective forum in which local governments can facilitate this new partnership. Still, these are only part of a long-term strategy for incorporating health considerations into planning and development. This toolkit provides not only advice on how to include health-supporting policy in general plans but also strategies for institutionalizing interdisciplinary partnerships and ensuring that implementation strategies are embedded in these policies from the first.

This toolkit provides users with a logical progression of steps that can build upon one another, without mandating a fixed entry point. It is organized around a process of engagement, from building relationships and assessing existing conditions to creating and ultimately implementing policy language.