Base of the Future: Planning for Quality of Life

Base of the Future: Planning for Quality of Life CHM Government Services & Arrowstreet 9 August 2017

CONTENTS I Planning the Base of the Future for Quality of Life, Health, and Readiness II m-PAC III

Arrowstreet & CHM Quals

IV

Community Support Planning Process

Planning the Base of the Future for Quality of Life, Health, and Readiness planning for health and active living Multiple factors influence an individual’s overall health status: personal, social, economic, and environmental. Besides consuming a healthy diet, regular physical activity is one of the most important things Americans can do to improve their health.

Regular physical activity and exercise are essential to maintaining a healthy weight status and can reduce common health risks associated with chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, type two diabetes, and heart disease. Other health benefits include improved sleep, increased stamina, and reduced stress.

Many Americans, however, are not active enough.

Modern work, educational, and recreational activities are increasingly sedentary. Lack of physical activity due to high amounts of time spent driving to and from work or in front of a computer, television, or screen has been associated with a high body mass index. The predominance of sedentary activities is a contributing factor in the rising rates of overweight and obesity status as significant health concerns in civilian and military populations. The relevance of overweight active duty members has risen steadily over the past five years. The good news, though, is that even modest amounts of physical activity can positively contribute to an individual’s overall health.

The physical environment, which includes natural and human-made physical features, provides the setting for all of our activities and can either hinder or enable us to be physically active. Communities designed with health in mind provide opportunities for people to include physical activity in their daily lives. Walking to work, school, the store, or just for fun is safe and convenient. Sidewalks, street trees, and bike lanes provide extended, attractive, and secure networks among mixed-use neighborhoods. Diverse destinations offering opportunities for food, fitness, services, recreation, and social interaction are within + A r r o w s t r e e t / Base of the Future

easy walking or biking distance from work or home.

Community gardens, parks, and playing fields promote regular, moderate exercise. These features, often referred to as active design, provide a setting that encourages and enables the routine physical activities that are such an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.

status quo Most bases no longer meet the physical requirements of today’s mission. Increased operational tempo, more co m pl ex m issi o n s a n d s yste m s , cha n g i n g demographics and lifestyles, and aging, single-use facilities have resulted in infrastructure that is in many cases outdated and obsolete.

Existing policies and procedures for planning and recapitalization may need to be adjusted to adapt to the needs of an agile, capabilities-based military served by a diverse, all-volunteer Army that is ready and resilient. Historically, planning policy has been based on the idea that bases were their own towns and were designed to operate independently of their host communities and in which long-term capital investments into single-use facilities were the norm.

Changing customer needs, along with the imperative to meet many of those needs via flexible service platforms, with technology or through off-post resources, require a new model of planning for Quality of Life (QoL). This model should concentrate limited military resources to those things only the military can and should do through partnerships with host communities.

Bases will also need a model for planning that specifically take into account mission characteristics, where people live and work as well as principles of Active Living to create multi-purpose facilities that leverage cutting-edge technology to increase utilization of existing resources.

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historical context Most of today’s military bases were built to support a much larger force than what exists today, often in remote locations. Further, military compensation was relatively low, so services were typically subsidized.

Bases were designed to be self-contained communities that included operational facilities and training ranges as well as almost all community support functions.

This situation has completely changed. Host communities have grown closer to and often entirely surround bases. The troops are now all-volunteer, and in the U.S., most military members with families now live off-post with services often consumed in their host community. Even with the increase in operational tempo, many bases have limited nighttime residential populations. Both working and residential populations have access to various off-base goods and services at c o m p e t i t i v e p r i c e s .

That said, a range of mission-required community support capabilities are often best provided by the military, from support for military life transitions to food and fitness at duty stations to health care and military education. Many of these services are needed on-post and in locations that are convenient and easily accessible during the duty day.

However, increased security requirements have limited the ability to share activities and excess infrastructure with host communities. This continues to force both the garrison and the host community to expend their limited resources on duplicate and often o u t d a t e d c a p a b i l i t i e s .

Finally, the existing planning process does not typically take health and wellness, resiliency, and the broad range of stakeholder interests into account when determining how to optimize programs, services, and facilities. Adjacencies that could better serve daily

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life activities and active living are often not considered, creating large duty populations with limited access to food, fitness, or recreation. Programs and facilities are often designed to be single-purpose rather than for flexibility that could reduce future capital expenditures as needs and capabilities change.

the burning platform By not keeping up with the transition to a capabilitiesbased model, the base planning process has unintentionally created an environment that is not conducive to health, wellness, nor a comprehensive community plan that meets the needs of today’s military for readiness and resilience. The issues contributing to this include: • Poor access to QoL services that directly impact mission readiness, health, and wellness— especially food and fitness.

• L ayouts that encourage use of single occupancy vehicles rather than walking or biking.

• U nsustainable financial models for QoL programs.

• Changing demographics, needs, and lifestyles leading to a mismatch of offerings and demand.

• Rapidly changing technologies.

• Increased competition and availability of off-base goods and services.

• Declining health and resilience of service members and families.

• Loss of sense of community.

• E xcess infrastructure and capacity in inflexible, single purpose facilities.

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• M ismatch between service types and locations with population centers to meet customer needs.

• P rovision of outdated, unhealthy products and services.

principles of active living Active living is a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines. Individuals may achieve this by walking or bicycling for transportation, exercising for pleasure, playing in the park, working in the yard, taking the stairs, or using recreational facilities.

According to the Center for Active Living and Active Living by Design, there are several principles that should be considered when planning any community or building. They include: 1. Understanding that physical activity is a behavior that can favorably improve health and quality of life.

2. Everyone, regardless of age, gender, duty status, or ability, should have safe, convenient, and affordable choices for physical activity.

3. P laces, both sites and buildings, should be designed to provide various opportunities for physical activity and should accommodate a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

6. Transportation systems, including transit, should provide safe, convenient, and affordable access to housing, worksites, schools, and community services.

7. Parks and green space, including walking and biking trails, should be safe, accessible, and part of a transportation network that connects destinations of interest such as housing, worksites, schools, community services, and other places with high population density.

8. Community planners should design for on-going interdisciplinary collaboration, promotion of facilities, behavioral supports, policies that institutionalize the vision of active living, and routine maintenance that ensures continued safety, quality, and attractiveness of physical infrastructure.

9. Community governing and planning processes should address the multiple impacts of the built environment and transportation choices on residents’ ability to be physically active.

Areas that should be considered as part of any planning process, especially GDP’s and ADP’s, could include: • A mix of land uses ensures availability, affordability, and access to QoL services to both residential areas and duty stations.

4. Development patterns should encourage mixed uses, compact design, and a variety of transportation choices.

• Access to transit and, whenever possible, safe walking and biking paths to limit the need for a car to accomplish daily life activities.

5. Buildings should be designed and oriented to promote opportunities for active living, especially active transportation.

• P rovide parks, open space, and areas for regeneration where people live and work.

• P rovide easy access to healthy food options without the need for a car trip.

• Provide well-connected street patterns, especially for walking and bike paths.

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m-PAC The Promoting Active Communities assessment for the military (m-PAC) is an evaluation tool designed to assist Army communities in examining their policies, programs, and built environments in terms of how well they promote and enable an active and healthy lifestyle. M-PAC was adapted from an assessment tool created by the Michigan Department of Community Health. It is in development by the Army Public Health Center as part of the Healthy Army Community (HAC) initiative and will eventually be deployed as a web-based self-assessment tool. It also provides some basic information about active design and links to more detailed information.

The assessment requires input and teamwork among community leaders from various perspectives, including urban planning, MWR, architecture, transportation planning, public health, public safety, housing, and community members. Each of these perspectives offers information, knowledge, and a vision about the base that can be important to the assessment. The focus of m-PAC is on examining the programs and physical features of a base that exist today and on the policies, guidelines, and planning studies that influence or determine future characteristics of the base. The resulting scores from the m-PAC assessment can identify strengths and weaknesses related to a base’s physical and built environment and generate and prioritize ideas for community improvements that support active lifestyles.

The challenge of incorporating active design principles into the policies, programs, planning, and features of military communities is part of the Healthy Army Communities initiative to reshape Army communities into healthier places to live, learn, eat, work, play, and + A r r o w s t r e e t / Base of the Future

shop, and plays an important role in the effort to increase readiness, retention, and recruitment by developing an Army-wide “Culture of Health.”

comprehensive joint planning process While m-PAC is an excellent tool for understanding the baseline physical conditions of a base as they relate to health and wellness, as well as providing a way of evaluating if a planning intervention will improve the healthiness of a base, we believe that base planning requires bringing all the stakeholders together in a comprehensive process that includes all components of the base, the host community, and business partners.

By planning jointly, bases and host communities can better provide fiscally sustainable support to the mission, soldiers, their family members, retirees, and civilian employees where and when needed.

This process must be based upon an understanding of a base’s specific mission, location, physical characteristics, and availability of housing, products, and services in the host community. The garrison can then ensure the availability, acceptability, and affordability of resources required to support the mission by combining on-post and community-based resources and services.

Any planning process must include bringing the entire range of stakeholders together to form a comprehensive, coherent vision for the base and its place within the host community. The process should include all base and local community stakeholders to ensure that all mission needs are represented when land use and capital infrastructure decisions are made.

Specifically for QoL issues, the process must begin with an understanding of the products and services

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that are available and needed so that a delivery model can be created specifically to the base that is marketdriven and customer-centric while taking advantage of capabilities and underutilized infrastructure that exist both on-post and in the host community.

An analysis of gaps in the existing portfolio and locations of services and facilities related to health and QoL, both on- and off-post, should be used to plan for new or recapitalized facilities to eliminate those gaps. Many of these gaps can be filled by enabling self-directed capabilities that leverage technology and existing infrastructure, locate needed capabilities in flexible, easily accessible, and multipurpose locations that are convenient during the duty day and where troops and families live.

planning principles • Integrate comprehensive planning with host communities to ensure services are provided where and when military members and their families live and work.

• U se the physical attributes of the base and host community to support readiness, resilience, and retention specific to the garrison’s location and mission requirements.

• U nderstand and align stakeholder interests, both on-garrison and in the host community.

• R econsider the fence line so that both the garrison and the community can take advantage of opportunities for shared services and programs.

priorities in support of the mission while meeting customer needs • Improve health and fitness.

• E nable self-generated recreation and regeneration through technology, partnerships, and optimization of existing infrastructure and programs.

• Enhance a sense of community at the unit and garrison levels.

• U se the 3 A’s—availability, acceptability, and affordability—as criteria to decide where, at what level of service, and at what price to deliver services.

• Where and how a service is delivered as determined by the characteristics of the specific base and host community.

• A ssess, improve, and locate programs to meet identified needs.

planning process Planning for the transformation of existing bases requires a much broader and more inclusive process than what is currently used. Historically, this approach has been predominantly base-centric, with limited engagement and collaboration with local communities, businesses, and organizations that support the base population. The focus of this process is on leveraging capabilities that reside both on- and off-base to maintain and ideally improve service military community health quality of life and resilience while at the same time optimizing resources.

• Use metrics to evaluate existing conditions and to guide future improvements.

• Design around capabilities rather than facilities to ensure future flexibility. + A r r o w s t r e e t / Base of the Future

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project staging

measurement framework development

Establishing a strong foundation for planning is essential for its success. The following components include an approach designed to be collaborative and strategic while providing tools that ensure implementation is realistic and effective. Key components are as follows:

Once the plan is developed, a measurement framework can be established. Measures are based on the strategic objectives and will be used to determine the base transformation’s success in terms of the base design, organizational capacity, business processes, finances, and ultimately the benefits to members of the military community. This might include such measures as optimizing infrastructure (facilities, land, etc.), leveraging technology, reducing costs, and improving readiness. A measurement data collection and reporting system is needed for establishing a baseline at project commencement to completion and beyond.

stakeholder engagement Establishing a collaborative and inclusive planning team requires recruitment of key on- and off-base stakeholders. The stakeholders should include, but not necessarily be limited to (other stakeholders will be identified and recruited based on the unique characteristic and mission of each base and surrounding community): • Senior command staff and base leadership.

• On-base community leaders.

• B ase community support managers (MWR, exchange, commissary, etc.).

• DPW and housing management team.

• Marketing.

change management planning The Department of Defense is one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, with its own set of laws, policies, and cultures. For any large-scale transformation effort to be successful, a change management plan is required. This includes everything from on-going stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, education, and training.

• Finance/Comptroller.

background research

• H ost community representatives, including elected officials and critical City/Town departments.

Gathering background information that will be used for analysis and planning prior to, during, and subsequent to an on-site visit is critical. This includes market research, financial research, customer surveys, land use and planning information, facilities and implementation data, off-base environment data collection, and collection of geographic information system (GIS) data and maps for both the base as well as the local area such as:

• Local businesses/Chamber of Commerce.

developing a strategic road map Project success is driven by effective planning and strategic direction. A strategic plan is essential to provide the team with a compass heading to ensure the project stays on track with the initial vision and objectives. + A r r o w s t r e e t / Base of the Future

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section i / Planning the Base of the Future for Quality of Life and Readiness Mission Assessment • Develop a thorough understanding of the base and tenant organization missions.

• G ather information on major units in terms of populations, working patterns, locations, etc.

• Gather on-base work and living populations, both during the duty day as well as evening/ overnight populations.

• Collect information on transient populations (training, visitors, etc.).

Facilities Mapping and Analysis

• Gather information on community layout and plans (existing and future).

• GIS data and map collection.

In addition to physical planning data, information on the programs and services must be collected including, but not limited to: • Market research • Operational research • Customer surveys • Financial research

• Develop facility profiles (age, condition, capacities, etc.).

Careful analysis of this information will enable the planning team to understand the market, the needs of military members at the base, and the issues related to QoL planning and services at the garrison. This work will enable to team to:

• Gather information on facilities funding (R&M, recapitalization, etc.).

• Calculate potential markets and market share on- and off-base.

• Gather information on proposed capital projects in terms of location, scope, use, timing, and funding (e.g. O&M, MILCON, NAFCON, etc.).

• Identify high need and high potential community support services.

• Map all community support facilities.

• Inventory facilities (name, location, uses, etc.).

Base Planning Research • Gather master plan and base-specific planning criteria.

• Review zoning and area development plans.

• Review access, parking, traffic patterns, etc.

• Identify location problems and opportunities.

• Identify preliminary opportunities for reuse, investment, and divestment.

• Off-base environment mapping and data collection.

• Locate and inventory off-base population centers, support services, etc.

• Collect information on local area/region demographics, housing, spending, business volume, etc.

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• Map daytime working population clusters.

• Map nighttime working and living population clusters.

• Depict walking and driving patterns (with radii to/from community support services).

• Depict locational community support usage patterns.

• Identify potential community support gaps (access to food, fitness, services, etc.).

• Identify missing programs and services (overall and by location).

• Identify access issues to programs and services.

• Identify problematic programs and services (performance, location, etc.).

• Determine existing financial position for all community support programs and services.

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section i / Planning the Base of the Future for Quality of Life and Readiness • Identify opportunities for financial improvement (reduce costs, increase revenues, etc.).

• Score existing and proposed plans against known metrics for:

• Pinpoint problematic facilities.

»» Health

• Identify potential reuse opportunities.

»» Walkability

• Identify potential relocation/consolidation options.

»» Bikeability

• Develop facility optimization opportunities.

»» Access to healthy food

• Leverage existing off-base capabilities and resources.

• R equire all new and modified missions to make mission-critical QoL capabilities available and accessible.

• Scope and structure mutually beneficial partnerships.

• Locate QoL capabilities within walking distance of duty stations.

It is critical to develop a collaborative plan with key base and community stakeholders and ensure that base and community plans are complementary to each other.

• Locate QoL capabilities on path of daily travel.

By reviewing future plans related to QoL services that support health and the Principles of Active Living, both on-base and in the host community, it should be possible to jointly identify specific facility reuse, consolation, and relocation opportunities and establish a comprehensive base and community support services plan that is responsive to the needs of the military community and base mission.

other considerations The Department of Defense’s Healthy Base Initiative (HBI) provides several lessons learned that should be considered in the planning process to improve service member and family resilience and readiness. They are detailed as follows:

• Prioritize accessibility to food and fitness to and from work locations.

the way forward Development of these planning concepts will require ground-truthing at existing bases to gain buy-in from commanders, as well as to better understand the positives and negatives of implementation. As noted previously, most of the components of the process outlined in this paper have been applied successfully at DoD bases in the past. The opportunity exists to test this process in its entirety at a demonstration base to make refinements and improvements. This process could then be applied across the DoD.

• Use any opportunity to make bases and host communities healthier for service members and their families.

• Use base planning and new facilities to improve readiness, resiliency, and retention.

• The military Promoting Active Communities (m-PAC) assessment and planning tool should be part of base planning requirements.

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section ii / Community Support Planning Process

community support planning process

background research

project staging

»» Stakeholder engagement »» Transformation governance »» Strategic road map »» Measurement framework »» Change management

pre-site analysis

»» Market research

»» Market delineation

»» Mission assessment

»» Market share analysis

»» Operational research »» Customer survey »» Financial research »» Facilities mapping and analysis »» Installation planning research »» Off-installation environment mapping and data collection »» GIS data and map collection

»» Target market needs »» Existing installation living and working pattern assessment »» Identify program and service gaps »» Determine financial posture »» Identify facilityrelated challenges and opportunities

on-site research & planning

»» Master plan discussions/ orientation »» Off-installation market analysis »» Financial meetings »» Operational meetings »» Qualitative market research »» Existing facilities analysis »» Collaborative planning session

»» Market opportunity analysis »» Facilities analysis »» Operational and financial analysis »» Develop preliminary structure for partnership opportunities »» Finalize draft transformation plan »» Present draft plan to key stakeholders »» Make adjustments »» Finalize plan

»» Identify opportunity for community partnerships

pre-site visit

post-site analysis, planning, & reporting

site visit

post-site visit

measurement change measurement

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section iii / CHM / Arrowstreet Quals

CHM / Arrowstreet Military MWR Planning Experience strategic capital improvement planning Conducted comprehensive strategic capital improvement planning assessments on 68 Air Force installations worldwide for all Services and MWR programs and facilities.

strategic food, beverage, and entertainment planning studies Provided the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy with a five-year plan for individual installation-wide food, beverage, and entertainment operational and facility enhancements.

strategic lodging plans Developed service-wide strategic TDY and PCS lodging plans for the Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps to include rightsizing the number of rooms on each installation, facility capitalization and recapitalization costs, and an evaluation of several alternative operating scenarios, including full privatization.

services transformation planning Developed a program rationalization methodology and transformation plan for all Services programs across the entire Air Force that was presented to the Chief of Staff of the AF. Work included desktop analysis at 71 main operating bases with follow-up on the ground validation at 11 installations.

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food transformation planning Prepared a plan to physically and operationally transform all Air Force dining facility and Nonappropriated Fund foodservice operations that included contracting with national foodservice corporations to operate on-base food and beverage facilities. The purpose was to generate savings, improve the financial performance of revenuegenerating operations, provide customers with a better dining experience, and provide training to military cooks for use in support of future combat environments.

healthy base initiative This three-year effort involved the assessment, implementation, measurement, and reporting of a series of food and beverage, recreation, and other active living initiatives intended to improve the availability of healthy food and the promotion of healthy living within the military community. Initiatives were implemented within a variety of on-base programs, including lodging, food and beverage, and retail establishments. The project involved 14 DoD locations incorporating all four branches of service, the Coast Guard, the National Guard, and the Reserves.

project validation assessments Executed more than 520 individual assessments to determine the need for, and feasibility of, proposed new construction or renovation capital improvement projects for 45 different types of MWR facilities and programs. Projects involved all four branches of service and nearly every major installation in the world.

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section iv / m-PAC Assessment

m-PAC Assessment overview Multiple factors influence an individual’s overall health status; personal, social, economic, and environmental. Besides consuming a healthy diet, regular physical activity is one of the most important things Americans can do to improve their health.

Regular physical activity and exercise are essential to maintaining a healthy weight status and can reduce common health risks associated with chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Other health benefits include improved sleep, increased stamina, and reduced stress.

Many Americans, however, are not active enough.

Modern work, educational, and recreational activities are increasingly sedentary. Lack of physical activity due to high amounts of time spent driving to and from work or in front of a computer, television, or video game has been associated with a high body mass index.1 The predominance of sedentary activities is a contributing factor in the rising rates of overweight and obesity status as significant health concerns in civilian and military populations. The prevalence of overweight active duty members has risen steadily over the past five years. The good news, though, is that even modest amounts of physical activity can positively contribute to an individual’s overall health.2 The physical environment, which includes both natural and human-made physical features, provides the setting for all of our activities and can either hinder or enable us to be physically active. Communities designed with health in mind provide opportunities for people to include physical activity in their daily lives. Walking to work, school, the store, or just for fun is safe and convenient. Sidewalks, street trees, and bike lanes provide extended, attractive, and safe networks among mixed-use neighborhoods. Diverse destinations offering opportunities for food, fitness, + A r r o w s t r e e t / Base of the Future

services, recreation, and social interaction are within easy walking or biking distance from work or home.

Community gardens, parks, and playing fields promote regular, moderate exercise. These features, often referred to as active design, provide a setting that encourages and enables the routine physical activities that are such an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

The Promoting Active Communities assessment for the military (m-PAC) is an evaluation tool designed to assist Army communities in examining their policies, programs, and built environments in terms of how well they promote and enable an active and healthy lifestyle. M-PAC was adapted from an assessment tool created by the Michigan Department of Community Health. It is in development by the Army Public Health Center as part of the Healthy Army Community (HAC) initiative and will eventually be deployed as a web-based self-assessment tool. It also provides basic information about active design and links to more detailed information.

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section iv / m-PAC Assessment

The assessment requires input and teamwork among community leaders from various perspectives, including urban planning, MWR, architecture, transportation planning, public health, public safety, housing, and community members. Each of these perspectives offers information, knowledge, and a vision about the base that can be important to the assessment.

The focus of m-PAC is on examining the programs and physical features of a base that exist today and on the policies, guidelines, and planning studies that influence or determine future characteristics of the base. The resulting scores from the m-PAC assessment can identify strengths and weaknesses related to a base’s physical and built environment and generate and prioritize ideas for community improvements that support active lifestyles.

The challenge of incorporating active design principles into the policies, programs, planning, and features of military communities is part of the Healthy Army Communities initiative to reshape Army communities into healthier places to live, learn, eat, work, play, and shop. It plays an essential role in increasing readiness, retention, and recruitment by developing an Armywide “Culture of Health”.

Further information about Active Design and the impact of the physical and built environment on public health can be found at the following publications available online: Healthy Base Initiative http://www.militaryonesource.mil/ footer?content_id=295237

Active Design Guidelines, Center for Active Design https://centerforactivedesign.org/guidelines/ The Case for Healthy Places, Partnership for Public Places http://www.pps.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ Healthy-Places-PPS.pdf

Building Healthy Places Toolkit, Urban Land Institute http://uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/ Building-Healthy-Places-Toolkit.pdf

1 https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/

topics/obe/risks 2 https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/

topics/phys

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