Designing Healthy Communities

Thursday, February 14, 11:45 am - 1 pm
Location: Room 675

Low-income Americans are 10% more likely to be obese and 9% more likely to have diabetes than high-income Americans. How can innovative planning of transportation systems, housing, workplaces, and other structures help to mitigate these chronic illnesses? The built environment has a significant impact on the health of the people who live and work in that community. Diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma and heart disease are intricately linked to the way that communities are designed. Despite recent improvements to the country’s health care infrastructure and the optimism surrounding the Affordable Care Act, health disparities persist for minorities and low-income populations. It is important to understand that although the design of poor communities can contribute to health disparities, urban planning and land use law can also be powerful tools to reduce these disparities and improve the health of all citizens.

"Designing Healthy Communities" is a DVD series, previously aired on PBS, that describes the impact of the built environment on the public's health. The video series shares creative approaches to changing the built environment to improve health, with particular emphasis on reducing health disparities.

The Centers for Law, Health & Society and the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth at Georgia State University College of Law invite interested faculty and students to view selected video clips and discuss the impact of the built environment on health with law and science experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The session will be moderated by Professor Courtney Anderson.

Panel:

Courtney Anderson, JD/MPH (Moderator)
Assistant Professor of Law
Georgia State University
College of Law

Montrece Ransom, JD
Senior Public Health Analyst
Public Health Law Program
Office for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ken Rose, MPA (Invited)
Associate Director for Policy
National Center for Environmental Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   

Contact : Stacie Kershner

E-mail: skershner1@@E R A S Egsu.edu

Category : Center for Law, Health & Society