Why is your street address such a good predictor of your health? Increasingly, Southeast Asian immigrants like Gwai Boonkeut are moving into neglected urban neighborhoods where African Americans have long suffered, and now their health is being eroded too. What can be done to create a neighborhood that promotes rather than destroys health?

Eboni Cochran and her neighbors in Louisville have organized to demand that chemical companies in their area do a better job of monitoring and containing hazardous materials that seep into the soil and air. Across the country, polluting industries are concentrated in communities where the poor and people of color live.

The inspiring story of women workers in Tijuana who, though laboring for poverty wages, still stand up to transnational corporations to win severance pay and to clean up toxic waste sites.

This film is part of California Newsreel's Health and Social Justice Collection.

In 2006, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation hosted a statewide policy forum on social determinants of health. Minnesota leaders in health, housing, early childhood development, environment, government, nonprofit and philanthropy gathered to discuss how these different sectors can work together to improve community health. Nationally acclaimed speakers - including UNNATURAL CAUSES featured scholars Ichiro Kawachi, Camara Jones, and Jim Krieger - shared research and ideas for focusing efforts “upstream,” on social, economic and environmental factors that influence health.

The 3-DVD set and/or print materials on the proceedings are available to organizations free of charge.

One potential underlying explanation for socioeconomic status (SES) gradients in health is exposure to multiple risk factors. Income and class tend to sort
individuals into different settings that are often accompanied by systematic differences in environmental quality. Housing and neighborhood quality, pollutants and toxins, crowding and congestion, and noise exposure all vary with SES. Persons lower in SES also experience more adverse interpersonal relationships with family members, friends, supervisors, and communitymembers. Furthermore, exposure to thesemultiple risk factors is associated with worse health outcomes. Thus, the convergence of exposure tomultiple physical and psychosocial risk factors accompanying disadvantage may account for a portion of SES gradients in health in both childhood and adulthood.

In this audio podcast, excerpted from an interview conducted for UNNATURAL CAUSES, Nancy Krieger of the Harvard School of Public Health talks about the political economy of health, how racial and place-based inequities impact health, and how public health and social justice are inextricably intertwined. ENHANCED PODCAST (m4a)

The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to ending America's affordable housing crisis. They believe that this is achievable, that the affordable housing crisis is a problem that Americans are capable of solving. While they are concerned about the housing circumstances of all low income people, they focus our advocacy on those with the most serious housing problems, the lowest income households.

This study examines the distribution of food stores and food service places by neighborhood wealth and racial segregation. It finds that, compared to the poorest neighborhoods, large numbers of supermarkets and gas stations with convenience stores are located in wealthier neighborhoods. There are three times fewer places to consume alcoholic beverages in the wealthiest compared to the poorest neighborhoods. Regarding neighborhood segregation, there are 4 times more supermarkets located in white neighborhoods compared to black neighborhoods.

A peer-reviewed study finding that even after controlling for personal income, education, and occupation, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with an increased incidence of coronary heart disease.

This piece summarizes key work in the study of neighborhood health effects with a particular focus on chronic disease outcomes (specifically obesity and related risk factors) and mental health (specifically depression and depressive symptoms). Empirical work is classified into two main eras: studies that use census proxies and studies that directlymeasure neighborhood attributes using a variety of approaches. Key conceptual and methodological challenges in studying neighborhood health effects are reviewed. Existing gaps in knowledge and promising new directions in the field are highlighted.

This paper, co-authored by Drs. Jack P. Shonkoff, W. Thomas Boyce, and Bruce S. McEwen, illustrates that the origins of many adult diseases can be traced to negative experiences early in life, so confronting the causes of adversity before and shortly after birth may be a promising way to improve adult health and reduce premature deaths.
Summary of Essential Findings (pdf)
Q&A (pdf)

This report describes and evaluates the ambitious voucher program that has enabled 1500 families living in highly segregated and disadvantaged Baltimore inner city neighborhoods to move to integrated, suburban "opportunity" neighborhoods.  The initiative originated as a partial settlement of the public housing desegregation case, Thompson v. HUD and was launched in 2003.

Opportunity mapping is a research tool used to understand the dynamics of “opportunity” within metropolitan areas. The purpose of opportunity mapping is to illustrate where opportunity rich communities exist (and assess who has access to these communities) and to understand what needs to be remedied in opportunity poor communities. Opportunity mapping builds upon the rich history of using neighborhood based information and mapping to understand the challenges impacting our neighborhoods. Currently, the site explains the concept behind opportunity mapping and provides examples. They will soon launch a blog and resource Web site for individuals and organizations using neighborhood based information systems.

Tiny particles of air pollution contain more hazardous ingredients in non-white and low-income communities than in affluent white ones, a new study shows.

Why is your ZIP code such a powerful predictor of your health? The show looks at some of the chronic stressors and environmental threats to health faced by the residents of Richmond, California, and look at how the community of High Point, in Seattle, Washington, attempted to address similar problems.

Why is your ZIP code such a powerful predictor of your health? The show looks at some of the chronic stressors and environmental threats to health faced by the residents of Richmond, California, and look at how the community of High Point, in Seattle, Washington, attempted to address similar problems.

This study examines the relationships between place, race and ethnicity, and health in the San Joaquin Valley of California and attempts to address two specific questions raised by the San Joaquin Valley Place Matters Team: What is the relationship between social factors and premature mortality? What is the relationship between social factors and exposure to environmental hazards?

Students investigate their own neighborhoods and gain practice in research and analysis while drawing connections between health and a neighborhood's physical, social, service, and economic environments.

PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity by "Lifting Up What Works." By developing and implementing multifaceted strategies, PolicyLink seeks to ensure that everyone—including low-income communities of color—can contribute to and benefit from local and regional growth and development. 

"Think for a moment of poverty as a disease, thwarting growth and development, robbing children of the healthy, happy futures they might otherwise expect. In the exam room, we try to mitigate the pain and suffering that are its pernicious symptoms. But our patients’ well-being depends on more, on public health measures and prevention that lift the darkness so all children can grow toward the light."

This study examines how much the country could save in health care costs if we invested more in disease prevention, specifically by funding proven community-based programs that result in increased levels of physical activity, improved nutrition (both quality and quantity of food), and a reduction in smoking and other tobacco use rates.

Prevention Institute is a non-profit national center dedicated to improving community health and well-being by building momentum for effective primary prevention. Primary prevention means taking action to build resilience and to prevent problems before they occur. The Institute's work is characterized by a strong commitment to community participation and promotion of equitable health outcomes among all social and economic groups. Since its founding in 1997, the organization has focused on injury and violence prevention, traffic safety, health disparities, nutrition and physical activity, and youth development.

This resource is for health professionals, lay workers, volunteers and activists. It’s for you and your organization, but also for your family, and your community. We will focus on six key determinants of health: income, education, employment, housing, food, and inclusion. The Primer to Action will show you:
1) where you can find more information about each of six determinants;
2) how you can work on the determinants in your agency;
3) who you can learn from, with examples and models; and
4) what you can do in your community.