Dwelling disparities: how poor housing leads to poor health

Abstract

In recent years, environmental health science has broadened the scope of its inquiries, expanding its investigations beyond the effects of single pollutants on individuals to incorporate the entire panorama of external factors that may affect people's health. Consideration of the health impacts of the built environment-the human-modified places where we live, work, play, shop, and more-has been a key element in the ongoing evolution of the field of environmental health.

Home, bitter home? Tradition holds that home is a haven, where people are protected and nurtured. For many, however, home is a health hazard when factors such as poverty, environmental contamination, and poor design combine to cause or exacerbate disease.

New tech on the block. GIS technology can help public health officials pinpoint the worst environmental health hazards on a house-by-house basis. Here, researchers mapped expected lead exposures in Durham, North Carolina.

Envisioning a healthier community. The Environmental Health Coalition is working with Barrio Logan, a low-income Latino community in San Diego, California, to map out a plan for future land uses to help eradicate hazards and improve health.

It came from within. Some of the worst home health hazards, such as the black mold crawling across the ceiling of an apartment (left) and the cockroach droppings blanketing the floor behind a refrigerator (below), arise inside homes that are poorly maintained or designed. Indoor mold and cockroach antigens have both been associated with worsened asthma and other adverse health effects.

Making houses into healthy homes. The High Point Healthy Homes and Community Project in Seattle is employing a new paradigm for public housing: design with health and sustainability in mind.