David Turcotte

Healthy Homes: In-Home Environmental Asthma Intervention in a Diverse Urban Community

OBJECTIVES We evaluated health outcomes associated with in-home interventions in low-income urban households with children with asthma. METHODS A comprehensive health and environmental assessment and subsequent intervention were completed in 116 households with 170 enrolled children with asthma. Home health workers provided household safety, asthma prevention education, and targeted environmental intervention to decrease asthma triggers and improve household safety. We collected environmental data with questionnaire and dust samples and health information with a questionnaire incorporating the American Academy of Pediatrics Childrens Health Survey for Asthma and other instruments at baseline and at follow-up 11 to 12 months later to evaluate the impact of the intervention on the health of the child and family in Lowell, Massachusetts, from September 2009 to January 2012. RESULTS The diverse study population of low-income children showed a statistically significant health improvement from baseline to follow-up. The cost of the interventions (not including personnel) was

A FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE SUSTAINABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

36 240, whereas the estimated medical savings over a 4-week assessment period was

Social Capital in Refugee and Immigrant Communities

71 162, resulting in an estimated annual savings of about

Community-university partnerships: achieving the promise in the face of changing goals, changing funding patterns, and competing priorities.

821 304. CONCLUSIONS Low-cost, multicomponent interventions decrease all measures of asthma severity and health care utilization in a diverse population of urban children.

Detection of allergen sources in the homes of sensitized children

Abstract This paper presents two urban case studies of attempts at developing sustainable housing in the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area. The case studies are used to test a multidimensional framework to see how well it might be applied as a guideline for development and a tool for understanding and evaluating actual housing development projects. This framework includes 10 sustainable housing development principles formulated from previous research. Using this framework, the manuscript examines two housing developments that incorporate several principles from the framework. Using these principles as a definitional and evaluative tool, this manuscript assesses the extent to which these projects make reasonable progress in achieving sustainable housing and why certain aspects of sustainable housing and the principles presented here are or are not included in these projects. The paper concludes with a detailed discussion of key findings and how they impact the likelihood of sustainable housing development in the future.

Reconstructing neighborhoods: two case studies in foreclosed housing acquisition and redevelopment by community development corporations in Massachusetts

Aparadox pervades discussions about the impact of immigrants and refugees on communities. The paradox is this: on the one hand, commentators who report on struggling communities highlight the daunting obstacles faced by these cities because of an influx of immigrants and refugees who bring with them a host of needs. On the other hand, commentators point to the importance that immigrants and refugees play in bringing vibrancy to otherwise stagnant economies.

Unsustainable Wind Turbine Blade Disposal Practices in the United States: A Case for Policy Intervention and Technological Innovation.

An important challenge that community-university partnerships face is how to maintain themselves in the face of changing goals, priorities, and funding. Partnerships often form as a result of some sort of “spark:” an incident, perhaps, or the identification of a shared need or common concern. Often, external funding is sought to provide the majority of resources for the establishment of a partnership and for the implementation of the partnerships action plan. Whatever external funding is obtained is typically of short duration. The funding will not continue over time. And usually the funding comes with stipulations about allowable partnership approaches; inevitably the priorities of one funder will differ from those of another. These issues of the maintenance of partnership in the face of shifting funding and priorities are ones that confront most community-university partnerships. This article examines these issues through the lens of an environmental justice partnership that has existed for nearly a decade, has undergone many changes in who is involved, and has operated with funding from many different sources, including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

A Content Review and Impact Analysis of Housing and Society through 40 Years

ObjectiveTo identify the presence of environmental factors linked to the onset of allergies and asthma in the homes of children participating in an early detection program that were identified with sensitivity to common allergens in the region of Sonora, Mexico.MethodsA walkthrough assessment was carried out in the homes of sensitized children; the research tools were the questionnaire and environmental checklist proposed by the Lowell Healthy Homes Program of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.ResultsThe results showed the presence of environmental allergen sources, to which most of the children in the study are sensitized, as well as the environmental conditions and habits that determine the quality of the indoor air of the households, were both related to triggering allergies and asthma in this population. A statistically significant association was found between the visual observation of dust inside homes and the sensitivity of children to dust mites.ConclusionsDust found inside the home was the most relevant environmental factor related to positive cases of IgE in children. Early detection of allergies in children in the study and the methodology used in this investigation provided a useful framework for the design of plans and intervention alternatives in these homes to prevent the development of allergies and asthma panorama. These plans should be designed with a multidisciplinary approach to impact social, environmental and economic benefits in the family, improving the living conditions of the study population and contributing to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations for 2030.

What Foreclosed Homes Should a Municipality Purchase to Stabilize Vulnerable Neighborhoods

Community development corporations (CDCs) played a central role in addressing the housing crisis of foreclosures in America’s urban neighborhoods. The success of CDCs, however, is closely tied to market forces, neighborhood characteristics, and policies at multiple levels, as well as factors internal to CDCs. What factors support or impede the success of CDCs that operate in such complex environments? We examined the experiences of two CDCs serving three small, ethnically diverse cities in Massachusetts regarding resources, policy, practices and local markets related to neighborhood revitalization. We derived lessons about the factors internal and external to these CDCs that affected their ability to acquire and redevelop foreclosed housing in the target areas they serve.

What is a strategic acquisition? Decision modeling in support of foreclosed housing redevelopment

Finding ways to manage the waste from the expected high number of wind turbine blades in need of disposal is crucial to harvest wind energy in a truly sustainable manner. Landfilling is the most cost-effective disposal method in the United States, but it imposes significant environmental impacts. Thermal, mechanical, and chemical processes allow for some energy and/or material recovery, but they also carry potential negative externalities. This article explores the main economic and environmental issues with various wind turbine blade disposal methods. We argue for the necessity of policy intervention that encourages industry to develop better technologies to make wind turbine blade disposal sustainable, both environmentally and economically. We present some of the technological initiatives being researched, such as the use of bio-derived resins and thermoplastic composites in the manufacturing process of the blades.