Housing and Health Sophia Meyer, Trev Parker, Devin Bingham, and Ariana Thompson: BSPS Spring 2020
Introduction At the very facet of a person is their home or living condition. Poor housing conditions can be associated with a wide range of health conditions including injuries, mental health issues, hunger, and infectious disease. Public health is deeply tied to human health, and therefore becomes a major area of investigation for solutions to some of the prominent housing issues.
Tent City
Food Deserts
Tent City: Encampment of people experiencing homelessness in a living situation of self-sheltering.1 A Primarily Domestic Health Issue ● On a given night in 2017, an estimated 553,742 people in the U.S. were homeless, about one-quarter to one-third of them unsheltered.2 ● Minimal Access to Resources ○ Hygiene facilities, food storage, healthcare, and rehabilitation ○ Inability to locate families ○ Increased risk of communicable diseases ○ Increased vulnerability for arrest ● People in tent cities are often forced to relocate by non-loitering legislation, a synergistic factor in the lack of available resources Factors Contributing to Homelessness14 ● General lack of shelter space ● Inadequacies with shelter system in certain locations ● Lack of attentiveness by service providers and state and local governments ● Lack of political will to devote sufficient resources to addressing the problem in long-term Professional Opinion: I am saddened to know that tent cities are an unsafe community, largely because of the unwelcoming politics that consistently push the inhabitants of tent city into nomadism, looking for whatever spot they can temporarily stay until their next brutal and forced relocation. I feel that with proper aid and intervention, these communities could support rehabilitation, basic healthcare, medication, food supply, and sanitary infrastructure for those living in tent city without basic human needs. While the issue at hand for finding a permanent solution for the health problem that is tent city is much larger than the small remediations that I propose, I feel that these minute efforts of financially stable communities can significantly improve the health quality of those struggling for their lives in tent city. -S. Meyer
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kazu.org%2Fpost%2Fclosure-date-looms-tent-city-santa-cruz&psig=AOvVaw2UnqriFd4TBYBpHWJaa JHY&ust=1582145841828000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCKCfs93-2-cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
Food desert: Geographic area in which access to affordable, fresh, and healthy food options is either limited or nonexistent for residents due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance. Housing Impacting Health ● Public transportation allows some urban residents to overcome the difficulties posed by distance; however in suburban and rural areas, public transportation may be restricted or unavailable. ○ Supermarkets may often be located many miles away from resident homes. ● Substantial research indicating that diet plays a key role in the prevention of chronic diseases and obesity, which highlights the role of nutrition as one of the modifiable determinants of chronic diseases. 3 Socio-economic Considerations ● Most commonly found in black and brown communities and low income areas, where many people do not own cars3. ● Corner delis and convenience stores offering cheap, processed foods are generally found in high concentrations in lower socio-economic areas.3 ● The USDA estimates that approximately 23.5 million people, or 8.4% of the US population, live in 2015 Low Income and Low Access Areas (> 1 mile urban, > 10 miles rural)15 4 low-icome neighborhoods that are more than a mile away from a supermarket. Potential Solutions ● Increasing the concentrations of grocery stores offering fresh food options ● Increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and calcium-rich foods, while reducing saturated fats, trans fats, sodium, added sugars, and excess calories Professional Opinion: The issue of food deserts is complex. Increasing the number of grocery stores that offer affordable and fresh food options in both rural and urban areas should be the first step in alleviating income and racial/ethnic disparities in access to healthy foods. I’d imagine that this process could be encouraged and accelerated through subsidies, tax breaks, and other incentives for large chain, and even smaller family-owned, grocery stores. If possible, limits should be placed on the concentration of fast food establishments allowed in a given area. It is no secret that fresh food options tend to be more expensive than processed foods so while access to fresh foods is an issue, price remains equally important, especially for low income families. Further, while increased numbers of grocery stores can yield greater access to fresh foods, the onus of leading healthier lives ultimately falls on the individuals who need to make healthy choices with regards to diet. However, individual behavior to make healthy dietary choices can only occur in a supportive environment with accessible and affordable healthy food options, which accentuates the complex relationship between food deserts and health. -D. Bingham
Government Housing
Gentrification Gentrification: the process of making something more respectable. In terms of housing, it's associated with renovating and improving neighborhoods so that they have a more affluent character. While attracting more upper class residents to new and improved neighborhoods, this process of gentrification pushes out the lower 8 income residents who lived there first . Gentrification Pros ● Gentrification often improves the economic value of houses and neighborhoods ● Lower income communities become more appealing ● Attracts more middle to upper class resident Gentrification Cons ● Displaces lower income families to other areas of worse crime and poverty ● Cities become even more gerry-mandered as low income families are excluded to certain parts of the city The process of gentrifying communities is happening all across the country (and world), mainly in well populated cities. According to CBS News “the rich are definitely pouring into another Los Angeles zip code: 90014. That neighborhood is now America's "most gentrified" zip code in the country, even though it's next to the city's Skid Row.7 Besides Los Angeles, other places where gentrification is occurring is in Seattle, Portland, DC, and even can be seen throughout Lafayette, Indiana. Professional Opinion:My opinion on gentrification is that it is unavoidable. Naturally, urban areas are going to be redeveloped into something more modern to fit the times we are living in. I also think gentrification can be a good thing. The modernization of neighborhoods brings more money into the area, while also reducing crime. However, this can also push people of lower incomes into areas of crime or neglect.The only way to really fight gentrification is to become an activist in your community, or to become active in politics where you may have a say on affordable housing and zoning permits -T. Parker
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, ESRI. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation
https://res.cloudinary.com/blavity/image/upload/c_fit,g_center,h_250,q_auto:best,g_south_east,x_0/v1543978098/ur6liphli3bkr4kl8sn4
Government Housing: established housing available for elderly, disabled, and low-income families12 ● available all across the U.S ● available only to low-income families who make less than 50% of the average income of the country they reside-- 2.3 million Americans are currently benefiting 13,15 Issues13-15 ● There are far more families that qualify for government housing, than available spaces in the public housing communities ● Many individuals and families are placed on a waiting list, where they sometimes wait months and often years before they are placed in a unit, facing the cycle of poverty and homelessness ● Many government housing options are of poor quality with unusable appliances ● Housing funds improperly allocated or managed Professional Opinion: I personally feel that the issue of government housing is growing, as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The fact that some families wait years before being placed in a home is problematic. If the government were to increase the amount of federal aid designated to government housing, this would provide a solution for the many issues associated with public housing, improving the living situation of thousands of families, and decreasing the number of individuals who are homeless. -A. Thompson
https://www.rentprep.com/landlord-tips/section-8-inspection-guide-for-landlords/
References: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
McNicholas, Rosenblum, Ryan, et al. TENT CITY, USA: The Growth of America’s Homeless Encampments and How Communities are Responding. Washington DC: NLCHP; 2018: 7. Accessed February 4, 2020. Available at https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Tent_City_USA_2017.pdf. Kushel M, Ucsf. The rise of California's tent cities. University of California. https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/rise-californias-tent-cities. Published June 15, 2018. Accessed February 4, 2020. Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences. US Department of Agriculture. Published June 2009. Accessed February 4, 2020. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/42711/12716_ap036_1_.pdf?v=41055 Morland K, Wing S, Roux AD, Poole C. Neighborhood characteristics associated with the location of food stores and food service places. American journal of preventive medicine. 2002 Jan 1;22(1):23-9. Accessed February 4, 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11777675 Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago. Mari Galleghar Research & Consulting Group. Accessed February 4, 2020. http://www.marigallagher.com/2006/07/18/examining-the-impact-of-food-deserts-on-public-health-in-chicago-july-18-2006/ Food Deserts in America. University of Tulane. Published May 2018. Accessed February 4, 2020. https://socialwork.tulane.edu/blog/food-deserts-in-america
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Leefeldt E. Where gentrification is having the biggest impact on cities. CBS News. Published March 5, 2018. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/does-gentrification-help-or-hurt-our-major-cities/. Gentrification And The Effects On Urban Development Sociology Essay. UKEssays.com. Accessed February 5, 2020. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/sociology/gentrification-and-the-effects-on-urban-development-sociology-essay.php Blake, kellerson, Simic, et al. Measuring Overcrowding in Housing. Bethesda, Maryland: IFC International; 2007: 6-9. Available at https://www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/measuring_overcrowding_in_hsg.pdf Urbanization Effects. Urbanization Causes and Impacts | National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/urban-threats/. Published June 18, 2019. Accessed February 5, 2020. ACLU. Overcrowding and Overuse of Imprisonment in the United States. New York, New York: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; 2015: 1-3. Available at https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RuleOfLaw/OverIncarceration/ACLU.pdf Hud’s Public Housing Program. Washington D.C. U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. https://www.hud.gov/topics/rental_assistance/phprog Problems with Public Housing. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/problems-public-housing-1907.html. Accessed 2018 Hunter, Linden-Retek, Shebaya, et al. Welcome Home The Rise of Tent Cities in the United States. Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic Yale Law School. 2014. Accessed March 22, 2020. Available athttps://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/WelcomeHome_TentCities_final_report.pdf 2015 Low Income and Low Access Areas Data Atlas. United States Department of Agriculture. Accessed April 5, 2020. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation
