How do we create the best human living conditions in cities?
Dr. Howard Frumkin, dean, School of Public Health, University of Washington, asked the audience at the National Building Museum’s Intelligent Cities forum to imagine they were zookeepers and just received a shipment of hundreds of frogs. Immediately, the zookeepers would need to create a habitat with the correct temperature, humidity, water and plants to ensure the frogs are healthy and live long lives. Cities are really just habitats for humans and our zookeepers are our elected officials, urban planners, and designers. However, Frumkin wondered if the ideal habitat is now being created for people - one that offers a healthy environment for all?
A City Dashboard
If a city were to have a “dashboard” tracking all the important indicators of a healthy human environment, “what would it feature?”, asked Frumkin. For Lucy, the dashboard would track traffic fatalities and the percentage of people driving alone to work. Lucy said traffic fatalities are actually higher in the sparser outer areas of cities. Kinney said air pollution and water quality are key data to track. Green made the case for “new intersections, miles of sidewalks and bike lanes, and percentages of people walking to work each day.”
Demographic Shifts
Lucy sees a coming population shift that will also have major health implications. Currently, “poorer people have captured the better locations in the center of cities. They live in the convenient locations.” However, this trend is changing. With the revival of cities, “white flight has turned into white return.” As a result, the poor are moving to the suburbs. Just as in Paris, where the suburbs are the site of poorer immigrant communities, U.S. cities may soon face the same issues.
