Place Matters for Health in Jefferson County, Alabama: The Status of Health Equity 50 years after the Civil Rights Movement of 1963

Your zip code may be as important as your genetic code in predicting your health outcomes and life expectancy. Neighborhood conditions such as quality of public schools; age, density, and size of housing; access to medical care; availability of healthy food outlets; employment opportunities; levels of exposure to environmental degradation; and availability of exercise options powerfully predict who is healthy, who is sick, and who lives longer. The Jefferson County Place Matters Team, in conjunction with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, undertook a study of the relationship between place, race, and health as we reflect upon the 50^th anniversary of major civil rights events of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama. Using Geographical Institutional Systems (GIS) mapping and hot spot analyses, we found significant variation in racial concentration, poverty, life expectancy, infant mortality, and healthy food access between census tracts in the county. In general, better outcomes were found in census tracts in the county with higher concentration of whites and higher incomes. Findings and recommendations will be described in the context of historical racial segregation, outcomes of urban renewal, ongoing struggles with social cohesion, and recent progress and opportunities for sustained improvements. In addition, as essential partners to promote health equity, we will offer lessons learned and suggest best practices for the development of a coalition of academic researchers, public health administrators, public policy experts, leaders of community-based, secular and faith-based organizations, economic developers, elected officials, and grassroots organizers.