By: Amy Sechrist Reflecting on the pandemic response thus far, I’m struck by the shift in tone surrounding personal and community responsibility related to COVID-19. The initial lockdown and self-isolation periods felt more like a call to sacrifice for a larger public good. We were asked, even if we were healthy, to please stay home and avoid being the link in a transmission chain that … Continue reading Pandemic Musings: Consent and Corona
This piece was originally published by Patience Wall on the Coastal Resilience Blog on May 18, 2020 Public information is at the core of our public safety and natural disaster resilience work. It’s a reliable source we can turn to when outcomes are uncertain and emergency responses are ambiguous. But in a world where we’re constantly bombarded with growing misinformation, contentious mistrust of government and … Continue reading Rebuilding their trust in what we say: Public information’s new frontier
This post was originally published by Anna Patterson on November 24, 2017. As COVID-19 has limited much of our activity and movement to our homes, many people are turning to the outdoors for a bit of refuge. Exploring the importance of green spaces- particularly on public health- this piece is once again relevant. Planning for Preventative Health Urban green space provides a place to escape … Continue reading From the Archives: Got Green Space?
By Lizzie Tong In the decades to come, cities must grapple with a myriad of challenges – climate change, increasing population density, rising inequality – and develop mitigation strategies through smart urban design. Cities around the world, including Singapore, Vienna, and Shenzhen, have turned to greenspace as a way to address these concerns and improve overall quality of life for its citizens. Greenspace can mitigate … Continue reading Senior Honors Thesis: Greenspace and Health
By Emily Gvino According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans produce 25% more trash than usual between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, generating 1 million tons more waste every week during this time frame[1]. However, the life cycle of this country’s waste poses a critical issue throughout the year. Urban planners, public works departments, and local officials are already dealing with the downstream impacts of … Continue reading Saving Patients but Harming the Planet? Hospitals as Stewards of the Trash Crisis
Planning for Preventative Health Urban green space provides a place to escape the concrete and steel of urban city centers, spend time in nature, connect with others, and get moving. As Americans become increasingly sedentary, a push towards funding and implementing green space as a means of increasing individual health has gained traction. Doctors now write green prescriptions for patients to go walk at their … Continue reading Got Green Space?
Drive through any town in the United States and you will likely notice that landscapes change from stately brick houses and white picket fences to depressed shotgun houses and chain link fences. What you won’t notice? As you drive toward the city center and home values decrease, a skyrocketing increase in heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure is taking place. In fact, … Continue reading A Prescription for Planning
As a native North Carolinian, there are a few things that come to mind as quintessentially Southern. At the top of this list is barbecue. The smell of hickory chips, the taste of tangy vinegar, and the social ritual of the pig pickin’ are, for many, cornerstones of a place-based identity. Unfortunately, our cultural appreciation for authentic barbecue underscores a fundamental tension between the strength … Continue reading Pork, GRITS, and Planning
On hot days when I was a kid, my mom would occasionally load the car with a bag of towels and sunscreen and take my sisters and me to the pool. We rolled down all four windows to feel the breeze that lasted for the 20 sticky minutes it took to get there. I remember the blue-green water, thick with children’s bodies, shouting and waving and … Continue reading Planners for Public Pools
