Public health officials recommend wearing a mask to reduce the spread of COVID-19, yet individual compliance varies. Understanding the full range of determinants of mask-wearing is critical for promoting evidence-based public health solutions to slow the spread of COVID-19. Using data from a survey of 3,059 respondents across six US states, this study investigates the relationship between psychological factors, including threat- and efficacy-related perceptions, on mask-wearing behavior. It is found…
New Article: Unequal Protection Revisited: Planning for Environmental Justice, Hazard Vulnerability, and Critical Infrastructure in Communities of Color
Existing environmental justice (EJ) and hazard vulnerability literatures inadequately address key texts and topics related to critical physical infrastructure, including stormwater, green space, sewerage, energy, and roads, among other systems. This scoping review demonstrates how fundamental principles of EJ can bolster and compliment those of social vulnerability (SV) with a focus on stormwater systems and flood risks. The discussion and conceptual framework provide in-depth insight to how neighborhoods are not…
The link between structural racism, high blood pressure and Black people’s health
High blood pressure. And structural racism. What do they have in common? Researchers say they are two of the biggest factors responsible for the gap in poor heart and brain health between Black and white adults in the United States. And they are inextricably linked. Studies show high blood pressure, also called hypertension, affects Black adults – particularly women – earlier and more dramatically than their white peers. By age…
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JPB Fellow Marccus Hendricks is paving the way to equitable infrastructure reform
Locals can tell you exactly which streets need repaving, which sidewalks require fixing, which spots pool with rainwater after a storm. And they know all too well that such things tend to be neglected in poor neighborhoods of color, degrading their well-being and leaving them more vulnerable to weather-related damage. As a grad student, Marccus Hendricks calculated the disparities in infrastructure investment in Houston, which endures increasingly bad flooding. Read…
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Toxic Metals in Nail Polishes, But Not on the Labels
A new School of Public Health study is the first to evaluate metals in the new generation of metallic nail polish finishes, as well as on nail salon surfaces and in the bodies of nail salon workers. Published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, the study identified toxic metals including antimony and aluminum in many of the sampled polishes, even though these polishes did not disclose them as…
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Black, Hispanic families hit hardest by dementia
It can begin with the occasional missed bill payment. An inability to remember names. Telling the same story repeatedly. There may be personality changes or mood swings. Confusion. Over time, it’s as if the person who once was slowly disappears. Dementia. As the population ages, a growing number of families face this debilitating condition, which can be both emotionally and financially exhausting, and require near-constant supervision from spouses or adult…
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Disasters: Deconstructed Podcast – “Infrastructure Justice” by Marccus Hendricks
Darien and Ksenia are joined by Dr. Marccus Hendricks, an Environmental Planning professor at the University of Maryland and Director of the Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience & Justice (SIRJ) Lab. Learn more about JPB Fellow Marccus Hendricks research.
Texas’ blackouts may come at a steep cost
As the lights begin to turn back on after nearly a week of outages across Texas, residents who already struggled to pay their utility bills might find it harder to recover. Costs are piling up that could continue to limit some people’s access to heating and electricity even after blackouts end. “The ‘heat or eat dilemma’ is a really, really significant issue,” says Emily Grubert, an assistant professor of civil…
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Issues Of The Environment: Commemorating 30 Years Of The Environmental Justice Movement
The concept of environmental justice can traced back to the 1970’s. But, it wasn’t until the 1990’s when the movement really began to take shape, thanks to the works of such scholars as Dr. Bunyan Bryant and Dr. Paul Mohai. Dr. Mohai looks back at the work he and his colleagues have done over the last three decades in a conversation with WEMU’s David Fair. Read more.
Out in the cold: Pandemic leaves more people in need of energy assistance, but also harder to reach.
Many undocumented households are ineligible for federal-funded state program and need to seek out locally run efforts. Unemployment levels remain high due to the coronavirus pandemic, and temperatures have plunged below zero from a February polar vortex blast. But state officials say they have received fewer requests than normal for a program to help low-income families cover heating bills. The pandemic also is disrupting typical outreach efforts into communities of…