142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Linking built environment to health implications by geographic and socioeconomic distribution: An environmental justice analysis from an integrated transportation and land use plan in the Southern California Region

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM

Frank Wen, PhD , Department of Research and Analysis, Southern California Association of Governments, Los Angeles, CA
Hsi-Hwa Hu, PhD , Department of Modeling and Forecasting, Southern California Association of Governments, Los Angeles, CA
Kimberly Clark, MPL , Department of Research and Analysis, Southern California Association of Governments, Los Angeles, CA
Ping Wang, MPL , Department of Research and Analysis, Southern California Association of Governments, Los Angeles, CA
Jung Seo, MPL , Department of Research and Analysis, Southern California Associattion of Governments, Los Angeles, CA
Simon Choi, PhD , Department of Research and Analysis, Southern California Association of Governments, Los Angeles, CA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Recently there have been increasing discussions to connect the built environment— streets, transportation systems, housing, retail/produce stores, parks/open space—to various health implications and outcomes such as pollutant exposure, respiratory/cancer risks, obesity, diabetes, asthma, and traffic accidents. A Regional Transportation Plan together with land use strategies, prepared by regional planning agencies, provides an important opportunity to promote healthy and sustainable communities.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how built environment and health can be shaped by transportation investment and land use strategies in the context of an integrated transportation and land use plan in the Southern California region. The study will first identify high risk communities (e.g., located within 500 feet of the freeway) and analyze their recent changes in socioeconomic/environmental stress conditions, and geographic distribution of cancer/respiratory risks from emissions, Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), poverty, unemployment, etc.  These health risks and exposures can be differentiated among communities by income, ethnicity, and age using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and data from U.S. EPA, California Air Resources Board, U.S. Census Bureau, and other sources.

Next, the study will develop methodology and models to assess the environmental justice impacts of transportation investments (transit, freeway, active transportation) on accessibility to health care, fresh produce, parks, and open space; and on the exposures to emissions, and proximity to roadway and aviation noise. GIS will be used to disaggregate all the impacts to small geographic areas to link to different population groups by income, ethnicity, and age.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Environmental health sciences
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
demonstrate how built environment and health can be shaped by transportation investment and land use strategies in the context of an integrated transportation and land use plan in the Southern California region.

Keyword(s): Built Environment, Environmental Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the technical lead for my agency's Environmental Justice Program (EJ), including the “state-of-the-practice” EJ Appendix for the 2012-2035 RTP/SCS, which features analysis that has been published in the Transportation Research Record (TRR) and presented at the Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and the ESRI Worldwide User Conference
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3344.0: Energy and Sustainability