Programs: Science and Policy
http://shr.aaas.org//index.shtml
AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program
Urban asthma and the neighbourhood environment in New York CityCoburn, Jason, Jeffrey Osleeb, and Michael Porter. 2006. Urban asthma and the neighbourhood environment in New York City. Health and Place 12 (2006): 167-179.
URL: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/healthandsociety/events/ms/year4/pdf/sd_Corburn,%20J.;%20Osleeb,%20J.;%20and%20Porter,%20M.pdf
Asthma is now the leading cause of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and missed school days in New York Citys poorest neighbourhoods. While most research focuses on the influence of the indoor environment on asthma, this study examines the neighbourhood effects on childhood asthma, such as housing and ambient environmental hazards. Using Geographic Information Science (GIScience) we identify neighbourhoods with elevated concentrations of childhood asthma hospitalizations between 1997 and 2000 in US census tracts, analyze the sociodemographic, housing characteristics, and air pollution burdens from stationary, land use and mobile sources in these areas. The paper reveals the importance of distinguishing the specific and often different combinations of poor housing conditions,outdoor air pollution and noxious land uses that contribute to the high incidence of asthma in impoverished urban neighbourhoods.
