A Plague on Your Houses: How New York Was Burned Down and National Public Health Crumbled
About: This article is published in JAMA.The article was published on 2000-01-26. It has received 56 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Plague (disease) & Public health.
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TL;DR: Analysis of links between racial residential segregation and estimated ambient air toxics exposures and their associated cancer risks using modeled concentration estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxics Assessment suggests that disparities associated with ambientAir toxics are affected by segregation and that these exposures may have health significance for populations across racial lines.
Abstract: This study examines links between racial residential segregation and estimated ambient air toxics exposures and their associated cancer risks using modeled concentration estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Air Toxics Assessment. We combined pollutant concentration estimates with potencies to calculate cancer risks by census tract for 309 metropolitan areas in the United States. This information was combined with socioeconomic status (SES) measures from the 1990 Census. Estimated cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics were highest in tracts located in metropolitan areas that were highly segregated. Disparities between racial/ethnic groups were also wider in more segregated metropolitan areas. Multivariate modeling showed that, after controlling for tract-level SES measures, increasing segregation amplified the cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics for all racial groups combined [highly segregated areas: relative cancer risk (RCR) = 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-107; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.28-1.36]. This segregation effect was strongest for Hispanics (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.17; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.74; 95% CI, 1.61-1.88) and weaker among whites (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.08; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.24-1.33), African Americans (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.09; 95% CI, 0.98-1.21; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.24-1.53), and Asians (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.10; 95% CI, 0.97-1.24; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16-1.51). Results suggest that disparities associated with ambient air toxics are affected by segregation and that these exposures may have health significance for populations across racial lines.
377 citations
Cites background from "A Plague on Your Houses: How New Yo..."
...Other key neighborhood factors that affect health include the social environment (social capital, cohesion, and crime rates) (Kawachi and Berkman 2003; Wallace and Wallace 1998; Wallace 1988) and the physical environment (traffic density, housing quality, and abandoned properties) (Reynolds et al....
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...…key neighborhood factors that affect health include the social environment (social capital, cohesion, and crime rates) (Kawachi and Berkman 2003; Wallace and Wallace 1998; Wallace 1988) and the physical environment (traffic density, housing quality, and abandoned properties) (Reynolds et al.…...
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TL;DR: A conceptual framework for studying how urban living affects population health is presented, based on the assumption that urban populations are defined by size, density, diversity, and complexity and that health in urban populations is a function of living conditions that are in turn shaped by municipal determinants and global and national trends.
330 citations
Cites background from "A Plague on Your Houses: How New Yo..."
...Fire station closings in New York City have been associated with an increase in significant structural fires in the City (Wallace & Wallace, 1999)....
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...The federal government did not provide help to the city in what is still considered, to this day, the most difficult period in New York City’s modern history (Tabb, 1982)....
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...For example, in 1975, as New York City was hit by its worst fiscal crisis of the century, the city cut funds for the Department of Health by 25% and staffing by 30%, laid off all narcotics detectives, and closed firehouses and TB control programs (Tabb, 1982)....
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...Depending on their construction, city structures like bridges and skyscrapers may be vulnerable to natural or human-made disasters, as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City demonstrated....
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...For example, New York City, which led the 1990s’ national prosperity in the US, had a shortage of 250,000–500,000 housing units at the end of the decade (Coalition for the Homeless, 2002)....
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TL;DR: A foundational theory of smart decline that takes as its starting point discussions of ethics, equity, and social justice in the planning and political theory literature, but is well grounded in observations of successful smart decline practice is presented in this paper.
Abstract: Economic decline has led to a new wave of population decline throughout the US, meaning more and more cities are shrinking. Growing interest in using smart decline principles to respond to shrinkage has been met with controversy in cities such as Detroit and Cleveland. This paper advances a foundational theory of smart decline that takes as its starting point discussions of ethics, equity, and social justice in the planning and political theory literature, but is well grounded in observations of successful smart decline practice.
263 citations
Cites background from "A Plague on Your Houses: How New Yo..."
...Wallace and Wallace (1998) document in fastidious detail how the City of New York, working with the RAND Corporation, orchestrated the closing of dozens of fire stations in parts of the city experiencing the highest depopulation levels....
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TL;DR: An overview of race-based segregation in the United States is presented and a framework for understanding its implications for environmental health disparities is proposed and applications of segregation measures for assessing disparities in ambient air pollution burdens across racial groups are discussed.
257 citations
Cites background from "A Plague on Your Houses: How New Yo..."
...In the context of segregation, these risk factors have the potential to act synergistically to raise allostatic levels of stress and simultaneously increase sensitivity to exposures, reduce the ability to access treatment and assistance, and reduce the ability to recover from environmentally mediated illnesses (Massey, 2004; Wallace and Wallace, 1998; Wallace, 1988)....
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...…act synergistically to raise allostatic levels of stress and simultaneously increase sensitivity to exposures, reduce the ability to access treatment and assistance, and reduce the ability to recover from environmentally mediated illnesses (Massey, 2004; Wallace and Wallace, 1998; Wallace, 1988)....
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01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at the context, content, and nature of the research and the factors that led to these early implementation successes and track the extent to which these original models are still affecting decision making in emergency response systems.
Abstract: W the goal of OR/MS is to aid decision makers, implementation of published models occurs less frequently than one might hope. However, one area that has been significantly impacted by management science is emergency response systems. Dozens of papers on emergency service management appeared in the OR/MS literature in the 1970s alone, many of which were published in Management Science. Three of these papers won major prizes. More importantly, many of these papers led to the implementation of substantially new policies and practices, particularly in policing and firefighting. Much of this work originated in New York City, though many other cities subsequently adopted the resulting models and strategies. In this paper, we look at the context, content, and nature of the research and the factors that led to these early implementation successes. We then track the extent to which these original models are still affecting decision making in emergency response systems. We also examine the pace of development of new OR/MS models and applications in the area. Finally, we look at issues in emergency responsiveness that have emerged recently as a result of the national focus on terrorism and discuss the potential for future OR/MS modeling and application.
174 citations
References
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TL;DR: Analysis of links between racial residential segregation and estimated ambient air toxics exposures and their associated cancer risks using modeled concentration estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxics Assessment suggests that disparities associated with ambientAir toxics are affected by segregation and that these exposures may have health significance for populations across racial lines.
Abstract: This study examines links between racial residential segregation and estimated ambient air toxics exposures and their associated cancer risks using modeled concentration estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Air Toxics Assessment. We combined pollutant concentration estimates with potencies to calculate cancer risks by census tract for 309 metropolitan areas in the United States. This information was combined with socioeconomic status (SES) measures from the 1990 Census. Estimated cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics were highest in tracts located in metropolitan areas that were highly segregated. Disparities between racial/ethnic groups were also wider in more segregated metropolitan areas. Multivariate modeling showed that, after controlling for tract-level SES measures, increasing segregation amplified the cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics for all racial groups combined [highly segregated areas: relative cancer risk (RCR) = 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-107; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.28-1.36]. This segregation effect was strongest for Hispanics (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.17; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.74; 95% CI, 1.61-1.88) and weaker among whites (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.08; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.24-1.33), African Americans (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.09; 95% CI, 0.98-1.21; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.24-1.53), and Asians (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.10; 95% CI, 0.97-1.24; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16-1.51). Results suggest that disparities associated with ambient air toxics are affected by segregation and that these exposures may have health significance for populations across racial lines.
377 citations
TL;DR: A conceptual framework for studying how urban living affects population health is presented, based on the assumption that urban populations are defined by size, density, diversity, and complexity and that health in urban populations is a function of living conditions that are in turn shaped by municipal determinants and global and national trends.
330 citations
TL;DR: A foundational theory of smart decline that takes as its starting point discussions of ethics, equity, and social justice in the planning and political theory literature, but is well grounded in observations of successful smart decline practice is presented in this paper.
Abstract: Economic decline has led to a new wave of population decline throughout the US, meaning more and more cities are shrinking. Growing interest in using smart decline principles to respond to shrinkage has been met with controversy in cities such as Detroit and Cleveland. This paper advances a foundational theory of smart decline that takes as its starting point discussions of ethics, equity, and social justice in the planning and political theory literature, but is well grounded in observations of successful smart decline practice.
263 citations
TL;DR: An overview of race-based segregation in the United States is presented and a framework for understanding its implications for environmental health disparities is proposed and applications of segregation measures for assessing disparities in ambient air pollution burdens across racial groups are discussed.
257 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at the context, content, and nature of the research and the factors that led to these early implementation successes and track the extent to which these original models are still affecting decision making in emergency response systems.
Abstract: W the goal of OR/MS is to aid decision makers, implementation of published models occurs less frequently than one might hope. However, one area that has been significantly impacted by management science is emergency response systems. Dozens of papers on emergency service management appeared in the OR/MS literature in the 1970s alone, many of which were published in Management Science. Three of these papers won major prizes. More importantly, many of these papers led to the implementation of substantially new policies and practices, particularly in policing and firefighting. Much of this work originated in New York City, though many other cities subsequently adopted the resulting models and strategies. In this paper, we look at the context, content, and nature of the research and the factors that led to these early implementation successes. We then track the extent to which these original models are still affecting decision making in emergency response systems. We also examine the pace of development of new OR/MS models and applications in the area. Finally, we look at issues in emergency responsiveness that have emerged recently as a result of the national focus on terrorism and discuss the potential for future OR/MS modeling and application.
174 citations