Duncan, Glen E.; Avery, Ally; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Tsang, Siny; Turkheimer, Eric. (2019). Cohort Profile: Twins Study of Environment, Lifestyle Behaviours and Health. International Journal Of Epidemiology, 48(4), 1041.
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Keywords
Twin Studies; Neighborhoods; Native Americans; Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; Life Style; Twins; Body-mass Index; Physical-activity; Neighborhood Walkability; Waist Circumference; Built Environment; Causal Inference; Deprivation; Validation; Registry; Obesity
Scully, Jason Y.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Aggarwal, Anju; Drewnowski, Adam. (2019). A Time-Based Objective Measure of Exposure to the Food Environment. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 16(7).
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Abstract
Exposure to food environments has mainly been limited to counting food outlets near participants' homes. This study considers food environment exposures in time and space using global positioning systems (GPS) records and fast food restaurants (FFRs) as the environment of interest. Data came from 412 participants (median participant age of 45) in the Seattle Obesity Study II who completed a survey, wore GPS receivers, and filled out travel logs for seven days. FFR locations were obtained from Public Health Seattle King County and geocoded. Exposure was conceptualized as contact between stressors (FFRs) and receptors (participants' mobility records from GPS data) using four proximities: 21 m, 100 m, 500 m, and 1/2 mile. Measures included count of proximal FFRs, time duration in proximity to 1 FFR, and time duration in proximity to FFRs weighted by FFR counts. Self-reported exposures (FFR visits) were excluded from these measures. Logistic regressions tested associations between one or more reported FFR visits and the three exposure measures at the four proximities. Time spent in proximity to an FFR was associated with significantly higher odds of FFR visits at all proximities. Weighted duration also showed positive associations with FFR visits at 21-m and 100-m proximities. FFR counts were not associated with FFR visits. Duration of exposure helps measure the relationship between the food environment, mobility patterns, and health behaviors. The stronger associations between exposure and outcome found at closer proximities (<100 m) need further research.
Keywords
Global Positioning Systems; Physical-activity; Health Research; Land-use; Neighborhood; Gps; Obesity; Tracking; Validity; Mobility; Fast Food; Spatio-temporal Exposure; Mobility Patterns; Selective Mobility Bias
Harris, Keith. (2020). Blue Seattle: Immanent Ethics and Contemporary Urbanisation. Area, 52(2), 273 – 281.
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Abstract
This paper asserts that critical investigations into the urbanisation process should consider the actually existing ethics of the process itself, without defaulting to transcendent normative principles. Grounded in an ontology of immanence, as presented in Deleuze and Guattari's (9) political philosophy, I argue that attention must be paid to the production and transformation of normativity. Using the redevelopment of the South Lake Union (SLU) neighbourhood of Seattle - (in)famously home to Amazon, but largely envisioned and developed by Paul Allen's investment and philanthropic organisation, Vulcan - as an analytical starting point, this paper sketches out a profile of the blue dimension of the genesis of Seattle's environmental ethic, from early efforts to reshape the region's hydrology and address water pollution in Lake Washington, through efforts by governmental bodies and Vulcan to protect water quality and salmon habitat, and on to a large-scale infrastructure project - the Elliott Bay Seawall replacement - that includes features to enhance biodiversity and ecological functioning in the nearshore environment. In tracking these movements, I identify the emergence of an explicitly post-anthropocentric ethic from what initially appears as an aesthetic concern, while also highlighting the ongoing complexification of an earlier engineering ethic that dates back to the earliest attempts by settlers to manage the natural environment.
Keywords
Water Pollution; Urbanization; Water Quality; Ethics; Political Philosophy; Home Ownership; Seattle (wash.); Blue Space; Deleuze And Guattari; Immanence; Post-anthropocentrism; Seattle; Allen, Paul, 1953-2018; Deleuze; Post-anthropocentrism
Besser, Lilah M.; Lovasi, Gina S.; Michael, Yvonne L.; Garg, Parveen; Hirsch, Jana A.; Siscovick, David; Hurvitz, Phil; Biggs, Mary L.; Galvin, James E.; Bartz, Traci M.; Longstreth, W. T. (2021). Associations between Neighborhood Greenspace and Brain Imaging Measures in Non-Demented Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Social Psychiatry And Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56(9), 1575 – 1585.
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Abstract
Purpose Greater neighborhood greenspace has been associated with brain health, including better cognition and lower odds of Alzheimer's disease in older adults. We investigated associations between neighborhood greenspace and brain-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures and potential effect modification by sex or apolipoprotein E genotype (APOE), a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Methods We obtained a sample of non-demented participants 65 years or older (n = 1125) from the longitudinal, population-based Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). Greenspace data were derived from the National Land Cover Dataset. Adjusted multivariable linear regression estimated associations between neighborhood greenspace five years prior to the MRI and left and right hippocampal volume and 10-point grades of ventricular size and burden of white matter hyperintensity. Interaction terms tested effect modification by APOE genotype and sex. CHS data (1989-1999) were obtained/analyzed in 2020. Results Participants were on average 79 years old [standard deviation (SD) = 4], 58% were female, and 11% were non-white race. Mean neighborhood greenspace was 38% (SD = 28%). Greater proportion of greenspace in the neighborhood five years before MRI was borderline associated with lower ventricle grade (estimate: - 0.30; 95% confidence interval: - 0.61, 0.00). We observed no associations between greenspace and the other MRI outcome measures and no evidence of effect modification by APOE genotype and sex. Conclusion This study suggests a possible association between greater greenspace and less ventricular enlargement, a measure reflecting global brain atrophy. If confirmed in other longitudinal cohort studies, interventions and policies to improve community greenspaces may help to maintain brain health in older age.
Keywords
Mild Cognitive Impairment; Ventricular Enlargement; Residential Greenness; Hippocampal Atrophy; Volume; Disease; Environment; Progression; Symptoms; Dementia; Neighborhood; Green Space; Mri; Brain Volume; Hippocampal; White Matter
Luo, Minghai; Qin, Sixian; Tan, Bo; Cai, Mingming; Yue, Yufeng; Xiong, Qiangqiang. (2021). Population Mobility and the Transmission Risk of the Covid-19 in Wuhan, China. Isprs International Journal Of Geo-information, 10(6).
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Abstract
At the beginning of 2020, a suddenly appearing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rapidly spread around the world. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in China occurred during the Spring Festival when a large number of migrants traveled between cities, which greatly increased the infection risk of COVID-19 across the country. Financially supported by the Wuhan government, and based on cellphone signaling data from Unicom (a mobile phone carrier) and Baidu location-based data, this paper analyzed the effects that city dwellers, non-commuters, commuters, and people seeking medical services had on the transmission risk of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic in Wuhan. The paper also evaluated the effects of the city lockdown policy on the spread of the pandemic outside and inside Wuhan. The results show that although the daily business activities in the South China Seafood Wholesale Market and nearby commuters' travel behaviors concentrated in the Hankou area, a certain proportion of these people were distributed in the Wuchang and Hanyang areas. The areas with relatively high infection risks of COVID-19 were scattered across Wuhan during the early outbreak of the pandemic. The lockdown in Wuhan closed the passageways of external transport at the very beginning, largely decreasing migrant population and effectively preventing the spread of the pandemic to the outside. However, the Wuhan lockdown had little effect on preventing the spread of the pandemic within Wuhan at that time. During this period, a large amount of patients who went to hospitals for medical services were exposed to a high risk of cross-infection without precaution awareness. The pandemic kept dispersing in three towns until the improvement of the capacity of medical treatment, the management of closed communities, the national support to Wuhan, and the implementation of a series of emergency responses at the same time. The findings in this paper reveal the spatiotemporal features of the dispersal of infection risk of COVID-19 and the effects of the prevention and control measures during the early days of the pandemic. The findings were adopted by the Wuhan government to make corresponding policies and could also provide supports to the control of the pandemic in the other regions and countries.
Keywords
Covid-19; Covid-19 Pandemic; Sars-cov-2; Seafood Markets; Pandemics; Cell Phones; City Dwellers; Wuhan (china); Big Data; Novel Coronavirus; Population Mobility; Risk Analysis; Zika Virus; Diseases; Africa; Impact; Ebola; Spain; Passageways; Smartphones; Investigations; Disease Control; Emergency Response; Health Services; Viral Diseases; Policies; Outbreaks; Emergency Preparedness; Risk; Seafood; Coronaviruses; Medical Treatment; Transmission; Commuting; Dispersion; Dispersal; Infections; Cross-infection; Epidemics; Health Risks; Disease Transmission; China
Wang, Yiyuan; Shen, Qing; Abu Ashour, Lamis; Dannenberg, Andrew L. (2022). Ensuring Equitable Transportation For The Disadvantaged: Paratransit Usage By Persons With Disabilities During The Covid-19 Pandemic. Transportation Research Part A: Policy & Practice, 159, 84 – 95.
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Abstract
Paratransit services developed under the Americans with Disabilities Act are a critical transportation means for persons with disabilities to meet their basic needs, but the COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge to service providers. To safeguard transportation equity, this study used complete records of service trips and riders obtained from the Access Transportation Program in the Seattle region for an empirical analysis aimed at answering two research questions. First, how did the ridership and trip purposes of paratransit change after the outbreak of COVID-19? Second, what factors explained the users' changing levels of service usage in response to the pandemic? Statistical methods, including a Hurdle model, were employed as the analytical tools. The results show that paratransit ridership dramatically decreased during 2020 with the most substantial reductions of working and non-essential personal trips, and that most of the remaining trips were for medical purposes. The results also indicate that riders' service usage during the pandemic was associated with their sociodemographic characteristics, disability conditions, and pre-pandemic travel demand. When controlling for other factors, riders who lived in neighborhoods with lower income and lower access to personal vehicles were more dependent on the service. Based on the empirical findings, we recommend that when developing plans for future disruptive events, public transit agencies should promptly implement safety measures, identify and prioritize neighborhoods that are most in need of mobility services, and actively pursue collaboration with other organizations for innovative service delivery options.
Keywords
Covid-19 Pandemic; Public Transit; People With Disabilities; Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990; Public Transit Ridership; Paratransit Services; Seattle (wash.); Americans With Disabilities Act (ada); Hurdle Model; Paratransit; Transportation Equity; Mobility; Justice
Cuo, Lan; Beyene, Tazebe K.; Voisin, Nathalie; Su, Fengge; Lettenmaier, Dennis P.; Alberti, Marina; Richey, Jeffrey E. (2011). Effects of Mid-Twenty-first Century Climate and Land Cover Change on the Hydrology Of the Puget Sound Basin, Washington. Hydrological Processes, 25(11), 1729 – 1753.
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Abstract
The distributed hydrology-soil-vegetation model (DHSVM) was used to study the potential impacts of projected future land cover and climate change on the hydrology of the Puget Sound basin, Washington, in the mid-twenty-first century. A 60-year climate model output, archived for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), was statistically downscaled and used as input to DHSVM. From the DHSVM output, we extracted multi-decadal averages of seasonal streamflow, annual maximum flow, snow water equivalent (SWE), and evapotranspiration centred around 2030 and 2050. Future land cover was represented by a 2027 projection, which was extended to 2050, and DHSVM was run (with current climate) for these future land cover projections. In general, the climate change signal alone on sub-basin streamflow was evidenced primarily through changes in the timing of winter and spring runoff, and slight increases in the annual runoff. Runoff changes in the uplands were attributable both to climate (increased winter precipitation, less snow) and land cover change (mostly reduced vegetation maturity). The most climatically sensitive parts of the uplands were in areas where the current winter precipitation is in the rain-snow transition zone. Changes in land cover were generally more important than climate change in the lowlands, where a substantial change to more urbanized land use and increased runoff was predicted. Both the annual total and seasonal distribution of freshwater flux to Puget Sound are more sensitive to climate change impacts than to land cover change, primarily because most of the runoff originates in the uplands. Both climate and land cover change slightly increase the annual freshwater flux to Puget Sound. Changes in the seasonal distribution of freshwater flux are mostly related to climate change, and consist of double-digit increases in winter flows and decreases in summer and fall flows. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords
Joaquin River-basin; Water-resources; Change Impacts; Model; Sensitivity; Temperature; Prediction; Streamflow; Forecasts; Humidity; Hydrologic Prediction; Climate Change Impacts; Land Cover Change Impacts
Maliszewski, Paul J.; Larson, Elisabeth K.; Perrings, Charles. (2012). Environmental Determinants of Unscheduled Residential Outages in the Electrical Power Distribution of Phoenix, Arizona. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 99, 161 – 171.
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Abstract
The sustainability of power infrastructures depends on their reliability. One test of the reliability of an infrastructure is its ability to function reliably in extreme environmental conditions. Effective planning for reliable electrical systems requires knowledge of unscheduled outage sources, including environmental and social factors. Despite many studies on the vulnerability of infrastructure systems, the effect of interacting environmental and infrastructural conditions on the reliability of urban residential power distribution remains an understudied problem. We model electric interruptions using outage data between the years of 2002 and 2005 across Phoenix, Arizona. Consistent with perceptions of increased exposure, overhead power lines positively correlate with unscheduled outages indicating underground cables are more resistant to failure. In the presence of overhead lines, the interaction between birds and vegetation as well as proximity to nearest desert areas and lakes are positive driving factors explaining much of the variation in unscheduled outages. Closeness to the nearest arterial road and the interaction between housing square footage and temperature are also significantly positive. A spatial error model was found to provide the best fit to the data. Resultant findings are useful for understanding and improving electrical infrastructure reliability. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Determinants (mathematics); Electric Power Distribution; Reliability In Engineering; Social Factors; Temperature Effect; Phoenix (ariz.); Arizona; Distribution; Electricity; Interruption; Outage; Reliability; System Reliability Assessment; Maintenance; Overhead; Model; Interruptions; Regression; Flashover; Failures; Performance; Hurricanes
Berke, Ethan M.; Vernez-Moudon, Anne. (2014). Built Environment Change: A Framework to Support Health-Enhancing Behaviour through Environmental Policy and Health Research. Journal Of Epidemiology And Community Health, 68(6), 586 – 590.
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Abstract
As research examining the effect of the built environment on health accelerates, it is critical for health and planning researchers to conduct studies and make recommendations in the context of a robust theoretical framework. We propose a framework for built environment change (BEC) related to improving health. BEC consists of elements of the built environment, how people are exposed to and interact with them perceptually and functionally, and how this exposure may affect health-related behaviours. Integrated into this framework are the legal and regulatory mechanisms and instruments that are commonly used to effect change in the built environment. This framework would be applicable to medical research as well as to issues of policy and community planning.
Keywords
Geographic Information-systems; Physical-activity; Obesity; Place; Associations; Walkability; Risk; Care
Wang, X.; Liu, C.; Kostyniuk, L.; Shen, Q.; Bao, S. (2014). The Influence of Street Environments on Fuel Efficiency: Insights from Naturalistic Driving. International Journal Of Environmental Science And Technology, 11(8), 2291 – 2306.
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Abstract
Fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector are a result of a three-legged stool: fuel types, vehicle fuel efficiency, and vehicle miles travelled (VMT). While there is a substantial body of literature that examines the connection between the built environment and total VMT, few studies have focused on the impacts of the street environment on fuel consumption rate. Our research applied structural equation modeling to examine how driving behaviors and fuel efficiency respond to different street environments. We used a rich naturalistic driving dataset that recorded detailed driving patterns of 108 drivers randomly selected from the Southeast Michigan region. The results show that, some features of compact streets such as lower speed limit, higher intersection density, and higher employment density are associated with lower driving speed, more speed changes, and lower fuel efficiency; however, other features such as higher population density and higher density of pedestrian-scale retails improve fuel efficiency. The aim of our study is to gain further understanding of energy and environmental outcomes of the urban areas and the roadway infrastructure we plan, design, and build and to better inform policy decisions concerned with sustainable transportation.
Keywords
Travel; Consumption; Emissions; Cities; Energy; Street Environments; Fuel Efficiency; Structural Equation Modeling; Naturalistic Driving