Spring 2013 - Adv Research Workshop in Landscape + Urbanism: Health and Urbanism Initiative CAU !

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning Spring 2013 Title: Advanced Research Workshop in Landscape + Urbanism: Health and Urbanism Initiative CAU 11.S943 (Credit: H: 3-0-9) Professor: Alan Berger, with Andrew Scott Meeting: TH 10AM-1PM, Rm10-485 Teaching Assistants: Ryan Kurlbaum, Jocelyn Drummond COURSE STRUCTURE AND TOPICS Description: The MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism CAU will support a course titled, “Advanced Research Workshop in Landscape + Urbanism,” during the spring semester 2013. The objective of the course will be an in-depth research project for the “Health and Urbanism” initiative, developed as part of a collaboration between CAU, the Clinton Global Initiative CGI, and the American Institute of Architects AIA. Students will conduct research at the intersection of design, urban planning, and health to develop contemporary insights about future urban form and infrastructural adaptation. Five urban environments will be chosen as laboratories for research, analysis, invention, and ultimately the development of new metrics for urban design proposals. Students will travel to meet with a variety of metropolitan agencies to gather and geographically analyze geospatial environmental, health, and other data as part of their proposals. A final report will be composed after the conclusion of the spring semester.

The MIT Center for Advanced Urbanism and the professors responsible for all courses taught in conjunction with the “Health and Urbanism” initiative, will be responsible for the content of the syllabus, choosing students, arranging schedules, and submitting a report after the spring semester. SA+P Professor Alan Berger will supervise the Program, and Professor Andrew Scott will periodically visit our class for input.

U.S. Level All Mortality

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Workshop Project and Organization: The Workshop will be divided into three phases of work: literature and comparative analysis, travel and data collection, and mapping visualization detailed study area with written summary. The three phases will be conducted in the order listed, with slight overlaps as each student sees fit to conduct research. The semester will begin with a review of literature concerning urbanism and health issues, and a series of guest lectures will visit class during the semester to share their perspectives and discuss your projects. All readings are located on our designated Stellar site (https://stellar.mit.edu/S/course/11/sp13/11.S943/), which will be managed by the Prof. Berger and TA Ryan Kurlbaum. TA Jocelyn Drummond will supervise data sources and GIS general management. Weekly Sessions: The professor and TA will meet with each group individually during the semester as part of our scheduled class time to discuss research findings and strategy. Weekly sessions are structured as follows: The 1st hour will be dedicated to a public discussion on the research projects, where individuals will present updates on work. The 2nd and 3rd hours will consist of individual meetings with the professor and TA. Mid-term and Final Presentations: Students will present their ideas to the class via a formal lecture-format presentation with images, at mid-term and at the end of semester. Every student must present. Outside professionals or representatives from AIA or CGI affiliated sponsors of the Health and Urbanism Initiative may attend these presentations. Phase 1 Literature and Comparative Analysis: This phase includes reading all of the required background materials (reports, documents, articles) and coming to class prepared for discussion. The first two weeks will comprise the required readings for class discussion and preparation for our first guest lecturer on Feb. 21. Please refer to the bibliography at the end of this syllabus for a list of required readings. The major focus of Phase 1 is to prepare a series of comparative health mappings across all the cities we will study in the workshop. The subject of these mappings will be organized as a group and shortlisted based on strength and content. Our goal is to construct a series of spatially comparable health issues, across at least 5 cities, at similar regional or metropolitan scales. These mappings will be accompanied by text summaries and incorporated into our final report. Research Projects by City: The class will be broken down by city location to cover the widest geography possible, given class size constraints. Each student will take responsibility for researching and traveling to a different U.S. city, as determined by the professor. The general breakdown of our coverage will try to align with the following diverse locations and variety of urbanized conditions across the U.S.

• 5-6 cities: 3 cold, 3 hot regions • 3 suburban or exurbs, 2-3 urban

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Categories for comparative studies between cities: *we must be especially careful to normalize all data for spatial translation in the comparative study portion of our mappings. Please check with TA’s for unit measures before proceeding.

1. Environmental factors (air, water, soil pollution) 2. Disease locations/clusters (asthma, cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc.) 3. Demographics (poverty, race, income, crime, etc.) 4. Density (type of structure, zoning, congestions ratios) 5. Future data (new developments/investment in infrastructure per capita, roads, public amenities, parks, etc.)

Phase 2 Travel and data collection: This phase includes preparation for your trips to different cities to meet with agencies on a fact-finding and data collection mission. Several weeks prior to your trips you should be making contacts in your choice city, developing a list of contacts, sorting through the layers of information that can be collected from MIT versus on-site, and making sure you have an inside person that can meet with you to go through the city’s public data and hand off GIS to you on your visit. As you can imagine, cities have infinite amounts of data that could take years to decipher. You goal is to find the most valuable data for your ‘health and urbanism’ interests and go collect it. You may need to spend an entire day with a GIS contact in your city to sort through layers with them and collect only what is necessary. The first place to inquire is with a city’s Planning Department. Find the director or supervisor (hopefully DUSP alumnus) and explain the project (i.e. the combined importance of AIA, CGI, CAU—not just a typical school project). Then allow the supervisor to tell the GIS person to work with you. I strongly suggest that you set up these appointments well in advance and be very generous and well mannered with your hosts. They do not need to help you and are doing you a big favor with their time. Bring a big external hard drive! Upon return to MIT, we will work with TA Drummond to organize this data.

U.S. Level Metropolitan Area Ozone Rates !

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Phase 3 Mapping visualization and detailed study area, with written summary: In this phase, each student will drill down in scale to further analyze and spatially represent the health issues most pertinent to their city. These mapping will be directly related to one city, and will likely depend on what quality of detailed data can be extracted from your trip/conversations with city agencies. We will attempt to go beyond County-scale data here and zoom into specific areas of each city. Evaluation and Grading: Grades will be based on the following distribution: Class participation, attendance = 30%, Mid-Term and Final presentation, papers= 70% Disabilities: If you have a documented disability, or any other problem you think may affect your ability to perform in class, please see me early in the semester so that arrangements may be made to accommodate you. Academic Misconduct: Plagiarism and cheating are both academic crimes. Never (1) turn in an assignment that you did not write yourself, (2) turn in an assignment for this class that you previously turned in for another class. If you do so, it may result in a failing grade for the class, and possibly even suspension from the college. Please see me if you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism. Anyone caught cheating on an exam will be reported to the provost in line with recognized university procedures.

U.S. Level All Cancer Rates !

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Schedule Spring 2013: Week 1 Feb. 7 Introduction and Orientation PHASE 1: Research and Literature Review Week 2 Feb. 14 Discussion of Required Readings, Research Directions Week 3 Feb. 21 *GUEST LECTURER SLOT

Discussion of City Assignments, Tasks and Deliverables, Discussion of Readings with Guest

Week 4 Feb. 28 (AB OUT) Discussion of Research Directions and Readings Led by TAs Week 5 Mar. 7 *GUEST LECTURER SLOT

Research Work, Crits Week 6 Mar. 14 PHASE 2: Individual Student Meetings Discuss data collection on trips, itineraries Week 7 Mar. 21 (AB OUT) Research Work, Trip Prep, Meet with TAs

Week 8 Mar. 28 SPRING RECESS WEEK - TRIPS TO CITIES Week 9 Apr. 4 PHASE 3: Individual Student Meetings Trip debriefing, detailed study discussion Week 10 Apr. 11 MID-TERM PRESENTATIONS Week 11 Apr. 18 (AB OUT) Research Work, Crits, Meet with TAs Week 12 Apr. 25 Research Work, Crits Week 13 May 2 Research Work, Crits Week 14 May 9 Research Work, Crits Week 15 May 16 FINAL PRESENTATIONS *2 additional guest lectures will be added to the schedule after guest confirmation MAY 23 FINAL PAPERS DUE. PAPERS TO BE SUBMITTED TO TA RYAN K. BY 5PM

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POTENTIAL U.S. CITIES TO BE STUDIED IN THIS WORKSHOP- SPRING 2013 (student will choose from this list in coordination with the professor)

City Resources (seed list): NEW YORK CITY http://centerforactivedesign.org/ http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/streetdesignmanual.shtml#download http://www.nyc.gov/html/misc/html/2009/fresh.shtml ATLANTA PHILADELPHIA HOUSTON LOS ANGELES http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/place/ http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/chronic/RFP2009.htm NASHVILLE http://www.civicdesigncenter.org/ http://www.civicdesigncenter.org/media/links http://www.nashvillempo.org/

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CHARLOTTE http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/transportation/plansprojects/pages/urban%20street%20design%20guidelines.aspx COOK COUNTY – CHICAGO http://www.activetrans.org/ MILWAUKEE http://www.renewthevalley.org/ http://www.menomoneevalley-fromthegroundup.org/ http://www.menomoneevalley-fromthegroundup.org/creating-new-branch-of-urban-ecology-center.html COLUMBUS http://energy.gov/savings/city-columbus-green-columbus-fund BOSTON http://www.cityofboston.gov/dnd/d_green_housing.asp http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/Default.aspx?id=1734 http://www.architecture.neu.edu/news/utile-selected-mayor%E2%80%99s-e-green-building-program http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=150 DENVER http://www.enterprisecommunity.com/solutions-and-innovation/enterprise-green-communities CLEVELAND http://sustainablecleveland.org/working-groups/energy-efficiency/green-building/ http://www.dscdo.org/ecovillage.aspx http://www.cudc.kent.edu/ PORTLAND http://agefriendlypdx.tumblr.com/ http://www.pdxinstitute.org/ http://www.webuildgreencities.com/ http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/ http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/index.cfm?c=45722 AUSTIN http://www.austintexas.gov/imagineaustin http://www.bustler.net/index.php/article/winner_of_austins_waller_creek_design_competition/ http://www.livehealthyaustin.com/ SEATTLE http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2012/05/30/green-incentive-capitol-hills-future-as-an-ecodistrict

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http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2011/05/29/area-near-capitol-hill-light-rail-station-could-become-an-ecodistrict http://bullitt.org/ http://www.seattle.gov/DPD/Permits/GreenPermitting/Overview/default.asp http://www.gglo.com/insight/checodistrict.aspx BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCE REQUIRED READING ARTICLES WEEK 1: Galea, Sandro, and David Vlahov. “Urban Health: Evidence, Challenges, and Directions.” Annual Review of Public Health 26, no. 1 (2005): 341–365. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144708. Jackson, Laura E. “The Relationship of Urban Design to Human Health and Condition.” Landscape and Urban Planning 64, no. 4 (August 15, 2003): 191–200. doi:10.1016/S0169-2046(02)00230-X. Northridge, Dr Mary E., Dr Elliot D. Sclar, and Ms Padmini Biswas. “Sorting Out the Connections Between the Built Environment and Health: A Conceptual Framework for Navigating Pathways and Planning Healthy Cities.” Journal of Urban Health 80, no. 4 (December 1, 2003): 556–568. doi:10.1093/jurban/jtg064. Perdue, Wendy C., Lawrence O. Gostin, and Lesley A. Stone. “Public Health and the Built Environment: Historical, Empirical, and Theoretical Foundations for an Expanded Role.” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 31, no. 4 (2003): 557–566. doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.2003.tb00123.x. Rainwater, Brooks. “Local Leaders: Healthier Communities Through Design” a publication of the American Institute of Architects, December 2012. To Browse: LSE Report of Cities, Health and Well-Being (primarily to discuss comparative graphics use) OTHER READING, BOOKS: Dannenberg, Andrew L, Howard Frumkin, and Richard Jackson. Making Healthy Places Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2011. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=385339. Freudenberg, Nicholas, Sandro Galea, and David Vlahov, eds. Cities and the Health of the Public. Vanderbilt University Press, 2006. Krupat, Edward. People in Cities: The Urban Environment and Its Effects. Cambridge University Press, 1985.

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McHarg, Ian L. Design with Nature. Garden City, N.Y.: Published for the American Museum of Natural History [by] the Natural History Press, 1969. The City: Health and Pathology, pp. 187-196 Zardini, Mirko, Giovanna Borasi, Margaret Campbell, and Canadian Centre for Architecture Staff. Imperfect Health!; The Medicalization of Architecture. Lars Muller Publishers, 2012. OTHER READING, NON-PROFITS / POLICY LINKS ACTIVE LIVING RESEARCH http://www.activelivingresearch.org/ http://www.activelivingresearch.org/search/site/?f[0]=bundle%3Acontent_research_paper CEOs for CITIES http://www.ceosforcities.org/ http://www.ceosforcities.org/research/walking-the-walk/ WORKPLACE http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/architects-are-playing-a-role-in-fitness-in-the-workplace/article_1b05b031-26fa-5c91-9be2-057824e82f2f.html HEALTHY COMMUNITIES http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/north-america-green-building-sustainable-city WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2010/age_friendly_cities_20100628/en/ Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/CommunitiesPuttingPreventiontoWork/communities/index.htm AIA DOCUMENTS www.aia.org/advocacy/local/AIAB096798 http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/html/design/active_design.shtml

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Phase 1: Resources for Comparative Analysis Data: Metropolitan Comparative Level Scale is critical! The following sources are examples of data that exists at comparable scales on various topics. It is not meant to be comprehensive on all health or urbanism issues. Use this reference amongst the different cities (across students) to align data sources for comparative studies. If you begin with the same level of data you are more likely to end up with comparable mappings across all the cities we will study in the workshop. I. Health Metrics National Atlas Download > People:

http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html

-County level - cancer mortality, reproductive health, income, employment, food stamp recipients

-Health Service Area (bigger than county) – various mortality (pneumonia, diabetes, etc.) -County Health Rankings.org

CDC: -Metro Area Physical Activity Stats http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/stats/metropolitan.htm -County Level Data for Obesity, Physical Activity, and Obesity

http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/atlas/countydata/County_ListofIndicators.html -Social Determinants of Health http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/maps/social_determinants_maps.htm Interactive Atlas

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/DHDSPAtlas/viewer.aspx -example analyses http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheets/county_inactivity_estimates.htm II. Air Quality EPA: -Non-attainment areas (mostly MSAs, county level) -for PM-2.5, Ozone, Lead, PM-10, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide

http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/greenbk/index.html (info) http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/greenbk/gis_download.html (shapefiles)

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Possible data source for Air Quality Index http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.main

California has more data from ARB: http://www.arb.ca.gov/ei/gislib/gislib.htm

III. Industrial Activity -zoning can only be acquired at city level once chosen -soil/water/air data to be acquired at city level TRI (Toxics Release Inventory):

-concentration of sites per census tract/block could be indicator of air/water/soil pollution http://www.epa.gov/enviro/facts/tri/customized.html

IV. Congestion

Texas Transportation Institute: -Urban area level – Hours of delay, annual excess fuel, per commuter and total

-101 urban areas in U.S. from 1982 - 2010 -Travel Time per Traveler (new index 2007) could be used to rank as opposed to -Travel delays http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/congestion-data/

INRIX: -most congested corridors in U.S. metros -length in mi, travel time, average sped, delay

http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/uscorridors.asp