What Topeka neighborhoods have the best, worst health?

TOPEKA (KSNT) - The City of Topeka is releasing the results of a recent survey into which neighborhoods have the best and worst health rankings.

The health of the Capital City's neighborhoods is something city officials have monitored since 2000 by ranking each neighborhood on a 1-4 scale based on five "vital signs." These vital signs include: poverty level, public safety, residential property values, single family home ownership and unsafe structures.

The survey uses colored maps to show the health ratings for each part of the City of Topeka with healthier areas appearing blue and unhealthier ones appearing red. A total of 21 Neighborhood Improvement Associations (NIAs) are displayed on the maps alongside other sectors existing outside the NIAs, much of which includes west and southwest Topeka. The health classifications include the following:

• Healthy (optimal conditions): 3.4-4.0
• Out Patient (favorable conditions): 2.8-3.2
• At Risk (emerging negative conditions): 2.0-2.6
• Intensive Care (seriously distressed conditions): 1.0-1.8

The City of Topeka Neighborhood Health survey for 2023 shows most of the healthy areas are located in west and southwest Topeka. Unhealthy neighborhoods include parts of the following NIAs:

• Monroe
• Historic Old Town
• Central Park
• Historic North Topeka East
• Highland Crest

The survey identified 15 block groups in Topeka which are showing improvement and 10 block groups that are in decline. These block groups make up small pieces of each neighborhood and sometimes overlap or stretch into different NIAs in Topeka, leading to instances where part of a neighborhood, such as Oakland, is considered healthy while another part could be classified as at risk. You can read through a summary of the survey's findings in the document below:

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