Making Healthy Places

Can we design and build places that are beneficial to people’s physical, mental, and emotional health, while also advancing equity and protecting the health of the planet? Yes!

Understanding Disaster Finance: New Tools for a More Resilient Future

The frequency and intensity of natural disasters—such as hurricanes, floods, and storms—are on the rise, threatening our way of life and our livelihoods. Insurance, an often confusing and unpopular tool, is critical to recovery from these crises. Yet, as it becomes ever more essential, insurance markets are under stress, many are uninsured, and insurance often seems divorced from efforts to improve the resilience and sustainability of our communities. How can we improve insurance to provide consistent and sufficient help following all disasters?

A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies

Matt Simon, science journalist at Wired magazine, has published the first book to fully explore the threat of microplastics. Publishers Weekly describes the book as a “lucid, distressing look at a growing environmental concern.” In this webinar, Simon will share how the study of microplastics began in the sea but has now moved to land, the atmosphere, and human health.

A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies

Microplastics are everywhere. They’re in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. They’re small enough to enter our cells, and they can mimic our hormones. Scientists are only beginning to understand the long-term impacts these invisible contaminants have on our bodies—many have been linked to diseases, from diabetes to certain cancers. Plastics are a risk to all of us—made up of over 10,000 chemicals that are harmful to our health and the planet.

Equity and Walkability: Improving Pedestrian Infrastructure in Underserved Neighborhoods

National conversations about equity have expanded into the pedestrian realm and have prompted increasing numbers of communities to examine how to improve pedestrian infrastructure in underserved neighborhoods. Nondrivers represent nearly one quarter of the population and yet often are not included in planning and policymaking discussions. This session looked at how nondrivers are organizing to improve pedestrian infrastructure to better serve people of all ages, as well as those who cannot drive, do not have access to a car, or who cannot afford to own or maintain a vehicle.

Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power

  Clean energy doesn’t need to be limited to urban and suburban areas. Any community, no matter how small, can build their own clean energy future. Clean energy, in fact, can be an aspect of thriving rural communities and its presence can spark greater investment, vitality and equity.  

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