Everything Is Connected
Connecting historical policies of racial discrimination to environmental injustice and modern health and movement disparities
THE PROBLEM
Redlining, practices of racist zoning and inequitable infrastructure development, and urban renewal, along with continued racism and divestment, have created unfavorable living conditions for communities of color.
Formerly redlined communities face a wide range of devastating issues, including higher levels of pollution, higher rates of chronic illness, and, most importantly to our work, decreased access to safe, green and blue spaces and decreased physical activity.
PLACES OF INTEREST
Baltimore, MD
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Detroit, MI
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
New York, NY
Oakland, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Washington DC
Project Leads
Alison Mariella Désir
Alison Mariella Désir is multi-talented: a founder, a doer, an activist, and a visionary with a passion for movement, mental health and racial equity. Alison is the author of Running While Black and the tv host and producer of the award winning PBS show, Out & Back w/ Alison Mariella Désir.
In 2023, Alison was named as one of the “45 Most Adventurous Women of the Past 45 Years” by Men’s Journal and one of the “Changemakers of 2023” by Well + Good. In 2021 and 2022, Alison was named one of the “Power Women” by Women's Running Magazine. She was also named one of the most influential African Americans, aged 25 to 45, by The Root 100.
Anthony is the Health Equity Director at the healthcare software company Epic Systems. He works at the intersection of software development and customer support to facilitate equitable and patient-centered technological solutions for the largest healthcare systems across the United States as well as abroad. His work ranges from directing development of tools and applications that aid in the collection of race, ethnicity, language, or social data, to working across teams at Epic to evaluate new and existing projects for bias and inclusivity, to collaborating with community partners on health and technology literacy. His mission is to build networks and relationships with and between health systems as well as community partners to build a more equitable healthcare system and world.
Kathryn Bernard
Kathryn is based in Madison, WI and works as a GIS Specialist in Conservation Science for an environmental non-profit. In this role, she conducts spatial analysis and uses maps, data, and modeling to inform and communicate about conservation work across the Great Lakes region. She holds a master’s degree in GIS and Remote Sensing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia. As part of her master’s degree,, she collaborated with Outdoor Alliance, a non-profit coalition working to advance outdoor recreation access and conservation policy, to evaluate equitable recreation access around several areas of federal land with proposed expansions. She is also an avid rock climber, runner, and cyclist, and works to foster inclusive communities in these sports through leading a local women’s rock climbing affinity group and working part-time as a rock climbing guide.
THE PROJECT
This project will explore how historical redlining and structurally racist investment or divestment in neighborhoods affects ideas about and actual engagement in physical activity and recreation.
We will access a wide variety of data sets, including data from HOLC maps, deprivation index data, heat index data, water quality data, traffic data, and crime mapping, and compare them against available movement data courtesy of Strava Metro.
Aim 1: Investigate the impact of redlining and infrastructure on physical activity levels and ideas about exercise via Community Impact Studio and data analysis from Strava and other relevant sources.
Aim 2: Create measurements to support local projects for city planning and community involvement.
Aim 3: Utilize the study's findings to empower local activists with data on how redlining has impacted physical activity and recreation in their communities.
OUTCOMES
Academic Paper
Communtity and Civic Engagement
Documentary
Immersive Experience
Anna is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Industrial and Systems Engineering, specializing in Human Factors. Her research focuses on supporting community-based systems of care and improving health outcomes for underrepresented populations. She will be contributing to study design as well as interpretation and dissemination of results in both academic and community settings.
Dr. Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, is an Associate Professor at Stanford Medical School and founder of the Sports Equity Lab. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Yale School of Public Health, Associate Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician specializing in sports, and a former professional athlete competing for the Ghana National Team in the long jump (her 1st love). A sports equity consultant, author, and expert, Dr. Tuakli leads numerous global committees. Just after the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, she moved to Palo Alto, California from Accra, Ghana to establish the first academic Center for Sports Equity.
Lee Weintraub, MPH, CHES is a public health professional and science communicator who currently serves as a grant writer and manager in the healthcare industry. She is energized by opportunities to help move toward equitable healthcare systems, communities, and environments. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree and bachelor's degrees in science communication and dietetics. Lee spent the earliest part of her career developing inclusive health promotion programs in the recreation industry and served as a public health lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lee is a former nordic ski racer and is grateful for any opportunity to move her body outside.
Hanjia Li holds a Master of Museum Studies from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor's degree in Film Media and Drama Studies from Queen's University. She currently serves as the Lab Manager at the Sports Equity Lab. She is passionate about museums, travel, and entrepreneurship.