Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Lead Bioaccessibility And Commonly Measured Soil Characteristics (Detroit, Mi, Usa) – Phase 1, Sabrina R. Good, Allison R. Harris, Patrick Crouch, Conor T. Gowan, William D. Shuster, Shawn P. Mcelmurry

Open Data at Wayne State

Contaminated urban soil is one of the major contributors to child Pb exposure. To gain a better understanding of Pb risk in urban areas, composite samples were collected from 142 residential, privately owned, parcels in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park, Michigan, with approval from the property owners. The proximity of soil sampling and former smelter locations were also reported. Sample were collected from areas covered with turf grass. Four samples were collected, one from each cardinal direction (north, south, east, and west), 20 cm from an aluminum tent stake driven into the center of the sampling site. Soils were collected …

Forest Bathing Increases Adolescent Mental Well-Being And Connection To Nature: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study, Jennifer Keller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Previous research has demonstrated that practicing forest bathing has significant positive effects on well-being. However, few studies have investigated whether forest bathing increases adolescent well-being despite the growing adolescent mental health crisis in the United States. Similarly, few studies have explored forest bathing’s impacts on connectedness to nature. Considering the ongoing environmental crisis, determining if forest bathing increases connectedness to nature is a critical expansion of forest bathing research, as connectedness to nature is linked to environmental care and concern. This study investigated the possibility that forest bathing, a nature-based mindfulness practice, could increase adolescent mental well-being and connectedness to …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

Heat Stress In Urban Environments: A Case Study Of Heat Vulnerability In New Haven, Ct, Logan M. Howard

Library Map Prize

A place-based understanding of heat and its behavior is necessary for appropriately preparing our cities and protecting the most vulnerable populations from this urgent climate and public health threat. This paper aims to identify the areas in New Haven, CT that have the highest autumnal temperature exposure and sensitivity to provide evidence for developing mitigation and adaptation measures. Original temperature data was collected using a bike-mounted Smart T sensor and then compared with data on land cover and water proximity. These heat exposure estimates were analyzed with 2019 Census data on age, income, race, and ethnicity, for 19 census tracts …

Urban Warfare: Emerging Geopolitical Conundrum, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Urban warfare is as old as human history. It is becoming increasingly important in international political and military planning due to increasing global urbanization and the presence of megacities (urban areas with populations exceeding 10 million) in many global regions and being in areas of recent and potential military conflict. 2018 World Bank data notes that approximately 56% of the world's population lives in urban areas which is up from 34% in 1960. Many of these megacities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Manila are adjacent to oceanic waters and vulnerable to trade and supply …

Justice Served Fresh: Associations Between Food Insecurity, Community Gardening, And Property Value, Micajah Daniels, Courtney Coughenour Ph.D

McNair Poster Presentations

Numerous stakeholders in Nevada have used a variety of efforts to combat the growth of food insecurity facing Nevadans. The purpose of this research project is to understand the association between food insecurity, community gardens, and property value. Following the wealth of scholarship on these topics and data collected from community garden agencies in Southern Nevada, the research questions for this project include: (1) Where are community gardens located in SNV? (2) What efforts community gardens agencies are doing to address food insecurity (most interested in their efforts using community gardens)? (3) What are the perceptions of supports and barriers …

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …

Detroit Health Department: Lead Report 2016, Abdul El-Sayed, Alex B. Hill, Haifa Haroon

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

The Epidemiology team at the Detroit Health Department rigorously stress- tested Detroit’s lead numbers. The findings suggest a true decline in EBLL levels rather than a decrease in lead testing or a change in the characteristics of the children who are being tested.

Walking Mediates Associations Between Neighborhood Activity Supportiveness And Bmi In The Women's Health Initiative San Diego Cohort., Jordan A. Carlson, Rosemay A. Remigio-Baker, Cheryl A M Anderson, Marc A. Adams, Gregory J. Norman, Jacqueline Kerr, Michael H. Criqui, Matthew Allison

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether walking mediates neighborhood built environment associations with weight status in middle- and older-aged women.

METHODS: Participants (N=5085; mean age=64 ± 7.7; 75.4% White non-Hispanic) were from the Women's Health Initiative San Diego cohort baseline visits. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were measured objectively. Walking was assessed via survey. The geographic information system (GIS)-based home neighborhood activity supportiveness index included residential density, street connectivity, land use mix, and number of parks.

RESULTS: BMI was 0.22 units higher and the odds ratio for being obese (vs. normal or overweight) was 8% higher for every standard deviation …

Micrometeorological Simulations To Predict The Impacts Of Heat Mitigation Strategies On Pedestrian Thermal Comfort In A Los Angeles Neighborhood, Mohammad Taleghani, David J. Sailor, George A. Ban-Weiss

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The urban heat island impacts the thermal comfort of pedestrians in cities. In this paper, the effects of four heat mitigation strategies on micrometeorology and the thermal comfort of pedestrians were simulated for a neighborhood in eastern Los Angeles County. The strategies investigated include solar reflective ‘cool roofs’, vegetative ‘green roofs’, solar reflective ‘cool pavements’, and increased streetlevel trees. Aseries of micrometeorological simulations for an extreme heat day were carried out assuming widespread adoption of each mitigation strategy. Comparing each simulation to the control simulation assuming current land cover for the neighborhood showed that additional street-trees and cool pavements reduced …

Ulaanbaatar’S Ger District Issues: Changes And Attitudes, David Engel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Several of Ulaanbaatar’s current issues are directly related to Ulaanbaatar’s sprawling Ger District. The Ger District is home to approximately 736,000 residents, 61% of Ulaanbaatar’s population (Galimbyek, 2015). The significant growth in Ulaanbaatar is shown by its 52.8% of residents who were born outside of the city, the majority of migrants moving into the Ger District due to a lack of housing. (Chilkhaasuren & Baasankhuu, 2012). The development of Ulaanbaatar has not kept up with the rapid growth leading to inadequate infrastructure in much of the Ger District. In turn, inadequate infrastructure has lead to high pollution levels, negatively affecting …

Across The Bridge: Using Photovoice To Study Environment And Health In A Romani Community., Krista Harper, The Sajó River Association For Environment And Community Development, Hungary

Selected Publications of EFS Faculty, Students, and Alumni

This photo essay is the product of a partnership between Prof. Krista Harper, the Sajó River Association for Environment and Community Development, and community organizer Judit Bari. The project took place in a small city in northeastern Hungary hit hard by factory closings since the collapse of state socialism in 1989. The Roma community, about 20% of the town’s population, has been especially vulnerable. A team of six young people participated as photographers and discussion participants, working closely with Harper and Bari. Other community members joined discussions of the images. The team held a photo exhibition in the neighborhood where …

Three State-Run Green Building Programs: A Comparative Case Study Analysis And Assessment, Haidee N. Janak

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis explores three state-run green building programs (California, Minnesota and New York) through comparative case-study analysis. Main topics discussed include cost benefits, health benefits, certification (i.e. LEED or other), and lessons learned from direct interviews with program staff.

City Of Gardner, Massachusetts Inventory Of Existing And Removed Tanks, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The purpose of this project is to provide the City of Gardner with a list of contaminated sites in the Rear Main Street Area. During the past month, I have been researching potential brownfield locations within this corridor, and inputting them into a working database. Overall, the problem identified is that the city has little knowledge of how much land is contaminated within its city. Therefore, the goal of my project was to identify the parcels in the Rear Main Street Area that have been contaminated with hazardous materials.

Benefits Of Statewide Land Use Plan, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Providence has been a leader in the nation in combating air pollution since the early 1950s when local ordinances banned outside burning to prevent pollutants from spewing into the air."