Suchergebnisse

There is robust literature examining the wide array of public policies and programs cities pursue in order to try to become more sustainable. Whether the focus of such programs is explicitly on improving the bio-physical environment, climate protection and adaptation, energy efficiency, land use regulation, or any of a number of other targets, such programs often carry with them an expectation that the programs will contribute to improve the health of populations. While there is significant attention to asserting that such a relationship exists, or ought to exist, there have been no efforts to explicitly and empirically link city policies to health outcomes. This paper tackles this issue head-on, investigating the extent to which cities in the US that have the most aggressive sustainability initiatives exhibit better health outcomes than cities with less aggressive sustainability initiatives. Using data from the largest cities in the US, this paper presents evidence concerning the strength of this relationship, discusses the foundations for the relationship, and provides a discussion of the implications for urban planning, sustainability policies and for improving the health of populations.

Disaster science is increasingly incorporating interdisciplinary methods and participatory research techniques. Yet, traditional higher education programs remain focused on lecture. More examples of educational efforts that meet the needs of future researchers and practitioners to foster collaboration across disciplines and with communities are needed. This paper describes one such effort that included three projects co-designed and co-led by university students, faculty, and community residents to address flooding challenges in socially vulnerable neighborhoods. This paper provides an overview of the educational programs, the three projects, and the feedback from graduate and undergraduate students who helped initiate these efforts, and discusses the benefits and challenges for similar interdisciplinary and participatory educational programs. Benefits for students include increased interdisciplinary dialogue, improved science communication, increased research participation, real-world research experience, and awareness of resident perspectives and knowledge. Challenges include a lack of cultural competency among students, time needed to earn resident trust, and mismatched community, academic, and student schedules.