Curriculum News + Comments

Recent News + Comments | Archive | Leave a Comment

10.12.10 | The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning's Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN was outstanding! The conference will be in Salt Lake City, Utah next Fall. Hope to see many of you there! Here's a shot from the bike mobile tour and a link to some information on biking in MN. Pictured (from left to right): Greg Lindsey (UMinnesota), Shaun Murphy (Nonmotorized Transportation Project Coordinator for the Minneapolis Department of Public Works), Noreen McDonald (UNC) in the background, and Curt Winkle (UIC) in the plaid shirt.

10.5.10 | The Readings page now includes student comments from the health and built environment course taught by Dr. Andrew Dannenberg at the University of Washington.

This week is the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning's Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN. There are lots of panels on built environment and health topics. It promises to be a great Meeting!

9.22.10 | Welcome Back! The Fall semester has brought with it some great updates to this web resource. You'll see lots of updates to the Additional Resources including webinars, landscape architecture therapuetic resources, and the Community Preventative Services site from the CDC.

Coming soon are student comments on readings from each of the units provided by Dr. Andrew Dannenberg's Healthy Communities class at the University of Washington.

Finally, save the date for these upcoming conferences: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, October 6-10, 2010 in Minneapolis, MN; American Public Health Association, November 6-10, 2010 in Denver, CO; New Partners for Smart Growth, February 3-5, 2011 in Charlotte, NC.

Archive

7.21.10 | Check out this news story "University-wide Effort Works to Provide South African Community with Clean Water" discussing the Water and Health in Limpopo project I have been working on with colleages at the University of Virginia and University of Venda in South Africa. The two student groups mentioned in this story were funded through the Jefferson Public Citizens Program. We also had students in country with support from the Center for Global Health and other sources.

6.29.10 | Congratulations to Howard Frumkin who was recently named the incoming Dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health. We wish you continued success in this new and exciting opportunity!

5.17.10 | This Week: Congress for New Urbanism in Atlant, GA "New Urbanism: RX for Healthy Places."

5.14.10 | Congratulations to Matthew Trowbridge, Terry Huang and Karen Lee for their work on the Green Health Meeting held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Friday, May 14th. The meeting was focused on "Building Healthy Places: Developing the Science & Practice of Architectural Health Promotion." Participants included representatives from NIH Centers (NICHD, NCI, OBSSR, ODP, and DNRC), the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York Office of Management and Budget, New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, U.S. Green Building Council, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, VMDO Architects, William McDonough & Partners, University of Virginia, University of Nebraska Medical Center, San Francisco Department of Public Health, Jonathan Rose Companies and Human Impact Partners. - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia

5.13.10 | I "started researching issues I am more interested in, specifically food security and food systems. ... My main focus is how in many neglected communities, the health of many constituents is a direct correlation to the food access and food options of the area. Yes, we can evolve infrastructure related to transportation and transit-oriented development in order to curb many health disparities, however, food justice is as much a priority and this is what I am passionate about." - Michael Smith, BUEP UVA 2009

- RESPONSES - Check out the list of faculty under the Course Offerings + Joint Degree Programs that work in this area of food systems. Also review the PAS Report titled Planners Guide to Community and Regional Food Planning (PAS 554) and other resources through the American Planning Association and the American Public Health Association. - N. Botchwey, UVA

3.24.10 | Congratulations to Susan Olson Allen, Ph.D. of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville for receiving funding to develop a joint master's degree in public health and urban planning. Development of the degree was one of the strategies submitted for the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Grant, for which the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government was awarded $7.9 Million. 44 commuities were awarded funds totaling $372.8 million for obesity and tobacco prevention.

3.1.10 | There are now two new tools on the additional resources page: (1) Choosing Visualization for Transportation and (2) County Health Rankings. Thanks to Laxmi Ramasubramanian for posting information about the visualization tools on PLANET and to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute for the seamless presentation of County Health Rankings! - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia

2.12.10 | Given recent posts on transportation and health, I thought this article on Sprawl and Delayed Ambulance Arrival in the U.S. by Matthew Trowbridge would be of interest. Also, thanks for sending your comments and suggestions for additions, amendments and deletions. As you scroll through you will see many more sample syllabi, new articles and recommended books. And, a must read article (2010) given the snowpocalypse on the east coast comes from Larry Frank titled Carbonless footprints: Promoting health and climate stabilization through active transportation. - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia.

2.02.10 | I'm using Frumkin as the primary text. The model curriculum is very useful, especially in terms of linking learning outcomes to assignments and course scheduling. ... for my course, if you have handouts related to exercises, especially related to impact assessment, audits, and special needs populations, that would be helpful. I will be working with the Residential Life Committee here on campus as a client for some or all of our projects this semester, with issues related to: (1) indoor air quality, (2) gray water (irrigation) and sewerage, (3) transportation and traffic safety, (4) open space (dead or lost space) - Erik Ferguson, American University of Sharjah, UAE

1.22.10 | I find this course works best when you can invite a range of speakers, due to the complexity of the subject matter. I supplement invited lectures frequently, with additional materials, and try to contextualize the lectures to the various departments that are part of our faculty (planning and design professions), whenever possible. Some of these lecture topic could be entire courses, but it is a good opportunity to introduce planning and design students to issues they generally do not get exposed to. ... In the previous iteration of the course, for the universal design input, we spent a day visiting projects around the city that incorporated universal design in interesting ways into their buildings and/or landscapes. This year, we may include a visit to the zoo as part of the therapeutic landscapes component. - Sheri Blake, University of Manitoba (originally posted on PLANET)

1.21.10 | Although focused on LA, I would like to recommend the book: Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City by Robert Gotlieb. - Teresa Vazquez, California State University (originally posted on PLANET)

1.21.10 | Just took a look at your website, nice! I take a somewhat different tact in my class, Housing and Public Health (and my research for that matter). I'm particularly interested in the relationship between the built -- environment and 'natural, nutrition and mental health. Nice to see more people getting involved with this as well. At UMass we're starting to develop a dual degree, MRP and Pub Health. Here's a syllabus from my fall class. It would be nice to have a way for all of us doing this type of work to connect -- your site is certainly a nice start. - Ellen Pader, University of Massachusetts

1.19.10 | Jason Corburn's recent book Toward the Healthy City (MIT Press, October 2009) "argues for a broader conception of healthy urban governance that addresses the root causes of health inequities."

1.19.10 | Those of you interested in this thread may also be interested in a paper that I co-authored with Sy Adler which links mid-20th century discourses about urban development, public health, and planning to the emergence of the WHO's Healthy Cities project in the mid-1980s. Shoshkes, Ellen and Adler, Sy (2009) 'Planning for healthy people/healthy places: lessons from mid-twentieth century global discourse', Planning Perspectives, 24:2, 197-217. Somewhat related: I teach an undergraduate (sophomore) course, Healthy People/Healthy Places, for which I use as the primary text the Rene Dubos classic: Mirage of Health: Utopias Progress and Biological Change (orig. published 1959, most recently 1999 by Rutgers). - Ellen Shoshkes, Portland State University (originally posted on PLANET)

1.19.10 | Consider starting with a review of my 2009 paper on existing US graduate school courses on health and built environment. It proposes a model course curriculum including readings and class exercises. Additionally, this website is a great resource, including a summary of planning programs that offer public health courses, certificate programs and joint degree programs - information students have been clamoring for recently. Finally, Howard Frumkin, Dick Jackson and Andrew Dannenberg are currently writing a textbook on health and built environment that will be published by Island Press in 2011. Howard Frumkin's 2004 and Lawrence Frank's 2003 books are the leading text for these courses along with a few others listed on the curriculum website. - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia (originally posted on PLANET)

1.17.10 | If anyone on Planet has taught a similar course, I would be interested in seeing your syllabi, as well any suggestions you may have for supplemental readings, assignments, web links, etc. Frumkin et al is currently out of print, according to the Island Press website, but is available through eBrary at AUS. Might switch to a different textbook if there are any more recent books available for purchase at this particular moment in time. Will post a summary of responses to Planet if there is sufficient interest shone. - Erik Ferguson, American University of Sharjah, UAE (originally posted on PLANET)

1.12.10 | Ann Forsyth, Carissa Schively Slotterback and Kevin J. Krizek's article, Health Impact Assessment in Planning: Development of the Design for Health HIA tools in the Environmental Impact Assessment Review. It is a nice addition to the current literature on this topic.

11.10.09 | Nisha Botchwey and colleagues Pamela Kulbok and Peggy Meszaros of Virginia Tech presented their youth tobacco prevention research at APHA in addition to Botchwey's presentation of this a Web-based Model Built Environment and Public Health Course Curriculum. Find a copy of the presentation here.

10.14.09 | It is impressive that you were able to provide a well-rounded overview of the topics for those who are new to the subject matter while also generating discussion points for others looking to further examine the topics. The website is well-organized, and the links to the articles are greatly appreciated. Thank you for putting so much thought into the design of the website! -S. Mak

10.7.09 | On Friday, October 2, 2009, Nisha Botchwey presented an update on the resources available on this Built Environment and Public Health Curriculum website at the Healthy City Planning Pedagogy Roundtable at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) 50th Anniversary Annual Conference with colleagues Jason Corburn, David Sloane and Chris Coutts.

8.25.09 | Check The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's University Resources for an announcement about this built environment and health model curriculum.

8.1.09 | Planning Magazine highlighted this curriculum website in their August/September 2009 issue on 'The Food Factor'.

7.21.09 | Curriculum description for impact of built environment on health is excellent. Finally... a curriculum design that integrates traditional pedagogical constructs with the opportunity for real student learning. THis is very brave in a place like UVa and I am very proud of you. Great HTML writing. Best! -rywright.

6.12.09 | Association of Schools of Public Health highlighted the website in their weekly Friday Letter.

6.11.09 |Congratulations on your new website - it's a terific tool! - Tanya.

6.9.09 | Nisha, great work on this website. What a great resource for faculty, students, and practitioners. Thank you for taking the time to create a website that requires minimal work on the user's end to access syllabi and articles. I really hope this website becomes a central resource for folks to post additional readings and such. Thanks Again! -- S. Hobson

6.4.09 | U.Va. Planning Professor Launches Model Curriculum Web Site Devoted to the Built Environment and Health reported in UVA Today.

6.3.09 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight this curriculum website in their 'spotlight at healthy places'

	Curriculum News + Comments Recent News + Comments \| Archive \| Leave a Comment 10.12.10 \| The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning's Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN was outstanding! The conference will be in Salt Lake City, Utah next Fall. Hope to see many of you there! Here's a shot from the bike mobile tour and a link to some information on biking in MN. Pictured (from left to right): Greg Lindsey (UMinnesota), Shaun Murphy (Nonmotorized Transportation Project Coordinator for the Minneapolis Department of Public Works), Noreen McDonald (UNC) in the background, and Curt Winkle (UIC) in the plaid shirt. 10.5.10 \| The Readings page now includes student comments from the health and built environment course taught by Dr. Andrew Dannenberg at the University of Washington. This week is the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning's Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN. There are lots of panels on built environment and health topics. It promises to be a great Meeting! 9.22.10 \| Welcome Back! The Fall semester has brought with it some great updates to this web resource. You'll see lots of updates to the Additional Resources including webinars, landscape architecture therapuetic resources, and the Community Preventative Services site from the CDC. Coming soon are student comments on readings from each of the units provided by Dr. Andrew Dannenberg's Healthy Communities class at the University of Washington. Finally, save the date for these upcoming conferences: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, October 6-10, 2010 in Minneapolis, MN; American Public Health Association, November 6-10, 2010 in Denver, CO; New Partners for Smart Growth, February 3-5, 2011 in Charlotte, NC. Archive 7.21.10 \| Check out this news story "University-wide Effort Works to Provide South African Community with Clean Water" discussing the Water and Health in Limpopo project I have been working on with colleages at the University of Virginia and University of Venda in South Africa. The two student groups mentioned in this story were funded through the Jefferson Public Citizens Program. We also had students in country with support from the Center for Global Health and other sources. 6.29.10 \| Congratulations to Howard Frumkin who was recently named the incoming Dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health. We wish you continued success in this new and exciting opportunity! 5.17.10 \| This Week: Congress for New Urbanism in Atlant, GA "New Urbanism: RX for Healthy Places." 5.14.10 \| Congratulations to Matthew Trowbridge, Terry Huang and Karen Lee for their work on the Green Health Meeting held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Friday, May 14th. The meeting was focused on "Building Healthy Places: Developing the Science & Practice of Architectural Health Promotion." Participants included representatives from NIH Centers (NICHD, NCI, OBSSR, ODP, and DNRC), the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York Office of Management and Budget, New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, U.S. Green Building Council, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, VMDO Architects, William McDonough & Partners, University of Virginia, University of Nebraska Medical Center, San Francisco Department of Public Health, Jonathan Rose Companies and Human Impact Partners. - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia 5.13.10 \| I "started researching issues I am more interested in, specifically food security and food systems. ... My main focus is how in many neglected communities, the health of many constituents is a direct correlation to the food access and food options of the area. Yes, we can evolve infrastructure related to transportation and transit-oriented development in order to curb many health disparities, however, food justice is as much a priority and this is what I am passionate about." - Michael Smith, BUEP UVA 2009 - RESPONSES - Check out the list of faculty under the Course Offerings + Joint Degree Programs that work in this area of food systems. Also review the PAS Report titled Planners Guide to Community and Regional Food Planning (PAS 554) and other resources through the American Planning Association and the American Public Health Association. - N. Botchwey, UVA 3.24.10 \| Congratulations to Susan Olson Allen, Ph.D. of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville for receiving funding to develop a joint master's degree in public health and urban planning. Development of the degree was one of the strategies submitted for the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Grant, for which the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government was awarded $7.9 Million. 44 commuities were awarded funds totaling $372.8 million for obesity and tobacco prevention. 3.1.10 \| There are now two new tools on the additional resources page: (1) Choosing Visualization for Transportation and (2) County Health Rankings. Thanks to Laxmi Ramasubramanian for posting information about the visualization tools on PLANET and to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute for the seamless presentation of County Health Rankings! - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia 2.12.10 \| Given recent posts on transportation and health, I thought this article on Sprawl and Delayed Ambulance Arrival in the U.S. by Matthew Trowbridge would be of interest. Also, thanks for sending your comments and suggestions for additions, amendments and deletions. As you scroll through you will see many more sample syllabi, new articles and recommended books. And, a must read article (2010) given the snowpocalypse on the east coast comes from Larry Frank titled Carbonless footprints: Promoting health and climate stabilization through active transportation. - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia. 2.02.10 \| I'm using Frumkin as the primary text. The model curriculum is very useful, especially in terms of linking learning outcomes to assignments and course scheduling. ... for my course, if you have handouts related to exercises, especially related to impact assessment, audits, and special needs populations, that would be helpful. I will be working with the Residential Life Committee here on campus as a client for some or all of our projects this semester, with issues related to: (1) indoor air quality, (2) gray water (irrigation) and sewerage, (3) transportation and traffic safety, (4) open space (dead or lost space) - Erik Ferguson, American University of Sharjah, UAE 1.22.10 \| I find this course works best when you can invite a range of speakers, due to the complexity of the subject matter. I supplement invited lectures frequently, with additional materials, and try to contextualize the lectures to the various departments that are part of our faculty (planning and design professions), whenever possible. Some of these lecture topic could be entire courses, but it is a good opportunity to introduce planning and design students to issues they generally do not get exposed to. ... In the previous iteration of the course, for the universal design input, we spent a day visiting projects around the city that incorporated universal design in interesting ways into their buildings and/or landscapes. This year, we may include a visit to the zoo as part of the therapeutic landscapes component. - Sheri Blake, University of Manitoba (originally posted on PLANET) 1.21.10 \| Although focused on LA, I would like to recommend the book: Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City by Robert Gotlieb. - Teresa Vazquez, California State University (originally posted on PLANET) 1.21.10 \| Just took a look at your website, nice! I take a somewhat different tact in my class, Housing and Public Health (and my research for that matter). I'm particularly interested in the relationship between the built -- environment and 'natural, nutrition and mental health. Nice to see more people getting involved with this as well. At UMass we're starting to develop a dual degree, MRP and Pub Health. Here's a syllabus from my fall class. It would be nice to have a way for all of us doing this type of work to connect -- your site is certainly a nice start. - Ellen Pader, University of Massachusetts 1.19.10 \| Jason Corburn's recent book Toward the Healthy City (MIT Press, October 2009) "argues for a broader conception of healthy urban governance that addresses the root causes of health inequities." 1.19.10 \| Those of you interested in this thread may also be interested in a paper that I co-authored with Sy Adler which links mid-20th century discourses about urban development, public health, and planning to the emergence of the WHO's Healthy Cities project in the mid-1980s. Shoshkes, Ellen and Adler, Sy (2009) 'Planning for healthy people/healthy places: lessons from mid-twentieth century global discourse', Planning Perspectives, 24:2, 197-217. Somewhat related: I teach an undergraduate (sophomore) course, Healthy People/Healthy Places, for which I use as the primary text the Rene Dubos classic: Mirage of Health: Utopias Progress and Biological Change (orig. published 1959, most recently 1999 by Rutgers). - Ellen Shoshkes, Portland State University (originally posted on PLANET) 1.19.10 \| Consider starting with a review of my 2009 paper on existing US graduate school courses on health and built environment. It proposes a model course curriculum including readings and class exercises. Additionally, this website is a great resource, including a summary of planning programs that offer public health courses, certificate programs and joint degree programs - information students have been clamoring for recently. Finally, Howard Frumkin, Dick Jackson and Andrew Dannenberg are currently writing a textbook on health and built environment that will be published by Island Press in 2011. Howard Frumkin's 2004 and Lawrence Frank's 2003 books are the leading text for these courses along with a few others listed on the curriculum website. - Nisha Botchwey, University of Virginia (originally posted on PLANET) 1.17.10 \| If anyone on Planet has taught a similar course, I would be interested in seeing your syllabi, as well any suggestions you may have for supplemental readings, assignments, web links, etc. Frumkin et al is currently out of print, according to the Island Press website, but is available through eBrary at AUS. Might switch to a different textbook if there are any more recent books available for purchase at this particular moment in time. Will post a summary of responses to Planet if there is sufficient interest shone. - Erik Ferguson, American University of Sharjah, UAE (originally posted on PLANET) 1.12.10 \| Ann Forsyth, Carissa Schively Slotterback and Kevin J. Krizek's article, Health Impact Assessment in Planning: Development of the Design for Health HIA tools in the Environmental Impact Assessment Review. It is a nice addition to the current literature on this topic. 11.10.09 \| Nisha Botchwey and colleagues Pamela Kulbok and Peggy Meszaros of Virginia Tech presented their youth tobacco prevention research at APHA in addition to Botchwey's presentation of this a Web-based Model Built Environment and Public Health Course Curriculum. Find a copy of the presentation here. 10.14.09 \| It is impressive that you were able to provide a well-rounded overview of the topics for those who are new to the subject matter while also generating discussion points for others looking to further examine the topics. The website is well-organized, and the links to the articles are greatly appreciated. Thank you for putting so much thought into the design of the website! -S. Mak 10.7.09 \| On Friday, October 2, 2009, Nisha Botchwey presented an update on the resources available on this Built Environment and Public Health Curriculum website at the Healthy City Planning Pedagogy Roundtable at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) 50th Anniversary Annual Conference with colleagues Jason Corburn, David Sloane and Chris Coutts. 8.25.09 \| Check The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's University Resources for an announcement about this built environment and health model curriculum. 8.1.09 \| Planning Magazine highlighted this curriculum website in their August/September 2009 issue on 'The Food Factor'. 7.21.09 \| Curriculum description for impact of built environment on health is excellent. Finally... a curriculum design that integrates traditional pedagogical constructs with the opportunity for real student learning. THis is very brave in a place like UVa and I am very proud of you. Great HTML writing. Best! -rywright. 6.12.09 \| Association of Schools of Public Health highlighted the website in their weekly Friday Letter. 6.11.09 \|Congratulations on your new website - it's a terific tool! - Tanya. 6.9.09 \| Nisha, great work on this website. What a great resource for faculty, students, and practitioners. Thank you for taking the time to create a website that requires minimal work on the user's end to access syllabi and articles. I really hope this website becomes a central resource for folks to post additional readings and such. Thanks Again! -- S. Hobson 6.4.09 \| U.Va. Planning Professor Launches Model Curriculum Web Site Devoted to the Built Environment and Health reported in UVA Today. 6.3.09 \| The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlight this curriculum website in their 'spotlight at healthy places'	Welcome Course Introduction & Design Unit 1: Planning and Public Health Foundations Unit 2: Natural and Built Environments Unit 3: Vulnerable Populations and Health Disparities Unit 4: Health Policy and Global Impacts Final Learning and Reflection Course Offerings + Joint Degree Programs Readings Course Assignments Additional Resources Curriculum News + Comments Contact
		Back to top

Built Environment + Public Health : Course Curriculum

Curriculum News + Comments

Recent News + Comments | Archive | Leave a Comment

Archive