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Marisa presented on her research in Medellín, Columbia conducting interviews among residents of Popular, Comuna 2 regarding the city's new reputation as "la ciudad mas inovadora del mundo." Specifically, we defined social urbanism as a change within the governance and political will to invest in communities that have been disenfranchised. Some of the projects have ranged from incorporating ski lift technology as a mode of transportation, Parque Biblioteca España, and Escaleras Electricas. We examined violence and trauma as drivers of health, the connection between transportation and spatial connectivity, the importance of social cohesion, and who the "innovation" is for when referring to social urbanism.
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This week Professor Jason Corburn gave a presentation about his work in Nairobi, Kenya by discussing the importance of GIS mapping as an advocacy tool. Mapping can be used to depict a baseline for health equity. We also discussed the slums of Mukuru in Kenya which Marisa spoke about her time there this Summer. Pilot programs in specific communities were examples cited of situational analysis. By focusing on incremental change and making sure there is no "bulldozing," reframing issues around health equity appear more approachable. These projects spoke to the action piece of HEAL and sparked the interests of everyone in the room to find out how they can become more involved.
This week HEAL students paired up to compare and edit each other's resumes. In those pairs and later as a larger group, we discussed positions we are currently looking for or applying to and offered general advice and support. We even started a Google doc with links to internships, research positions, and employment opportunities to share our knowledge of resources and opportunities. Some of the seminar was also spent sharing tips about Linkedin and then "connecting" and endorsing each other.
Dr. Howard Pinderhughes from UCSF came to speak to us about racial discrimination and structural violence and how those effect health outcomes. We watched a clip of the Netflix documentary, "13" which spoke to the 13th amendment's loophole so prisoners could no longer have rights under the constitution. We discussed at great length how this became the basis for mass incarceration because there was an incentive for prisons to use incarcerated folks as labor.
Dr. Pinderhughes guided us through the changes he and his family noticed during their time residing in Roxbury, Massachusetts. From the "tipping point" of a community rapidly transitioning from a White to a Black neighborhood, to slumlords renting out units, decreasing property rates, and contributing to overcrowding along with changes in infrastructure by building a highway surrounding the city and the only construction occurring between 1968-1990 being a Juvenile jail, all of these contributed to the health of the community. However, now the narrative has become displacement into suburban and ex-urban communities. Since we are in the Health Equity Action Lab seminar, we also wanted to take some time to focus on the action piece of the seminar. Dr. Pinderhughes spoke about some of the solutions he has been a part of proposing to local communities. Health of communities are determined by three things: equitable opportunity (economic/educational), people (social/cultural environment), and place or the built environment. By addressing solutions specific to each of these three determinants, health equity becomes more feasible. |
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