The Specter of Asbestos in Low-Income Housing
The cost of lead and asbestos abatement totals in the thousands of dollars, and private homes aren’t usually included in asbestos regulation, so its removal becomes less of a priority for landlords, and is much less likely to happen at all.
Where Were All the Sidewalks Built?
A health and community development partnership leads to a revelation for a city transportation department.
Entrepreneurship as a Path to Health?
New partnerships between health funders and small-business lenders highlight another possible way to influence health.
8 Ways to Connect with Your Public Health Department
Tips for community organizations looking to build relationships with local public health departments.
Unsorting Our Cities
To improve the health of residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods, we have to address inequality, not medical care.
Common Sense Is Community Development’s Most Powerful Ally
The title of this post proved itself to be true for us in Duluth, when local organizations got together to address the growing need...
Housing Is Health: Ballot Initiatives in California Approved
A conversation with three county supervisors who were instrumental in moving affordable housing ballot measures forward in the California Bay Area by bringing in the health factor.
A Bad Mix: Utility Shut-Offs and Chronic Illnesses
In most states, a household can avoid or delay termination of its utility service due to overdue balances if the shut-off would significantly impact their health. But the process isn’t as simple as it may seem
Redlining and Mental Health: Connecting the Dots Across Poverty, Place, and Exclusion
A side by side comparison of historical redlining maps reveals a strong spatial relationship between a history of systemic exclusion in the form of redlining and poor mental health.
Let’s Re-Place the Health Opportunity Maps
The way we map health opportunity has serious flaws. How can we make those maps more reflective of communities' lived experiences?
How *Not* to Connect Health and Community Development
A few months ago as I walked to a board meeting of my local CDFI, I passed a memorial to a young man who...
Approaching Partnerships Between Health Care Institutions and Community Development Organizations
There isn’t an exact science to forming partnerships. The slow and sometimes messy process requires patience, allies, and trust.
Transforming Vacant Land Into Community Assets
Vacant land activities can be low cost and high impact; the price of failure is not steep, but the return on investment can be high.
Why Organizations Should Invest in Home Repairs to Improve Health
A closer look at the relationship between health and the home repair needs of lower-income households.
Doctors Join the Fight Against Speculators
Around the country, health care institutions have started to employ lawyers onsite to help patients fight landlords for better housing conditions or qualify for housing subsidies (plus a range of other legal supports that will generally have direct effect on their health).
Shelter Shorts—The Week in Community Development, April 6
Gentrification Is Bad For One's Health | Housing Teachers-At School | Protecting Space for Local Business | TOD Doesn't Have to Displace | Community Artists Win in Court | More . . .
Why We Must First Be Well Before We Can Do the Work of the...
An Alaskan collective's perspective on taking care of oneself can apply to organizations that work with communities that have experienced trauma. After all, organizations should make the mental and physical health of their staff a top priority, too.
The U.S. Health Care System: Players and Incentives
There are new incentives to pay attention to partnerships around the social determinants of health. Who are the main players involved?
Filling Commercial Vacancies with Food Pantries
When I tell people that food pantries can be a new and innovative way to help lift up communities, they look at me as...
Which Agencies Should Pay to End Family Homelessness?
When families have stable housing, the benefits are widespread. And perhaps that has been the problem.