April 19 Science of Environmental Justice Seminar at EPA in San Francisco

US EPA Region 9 Environmental Justice Program and the Regional Science
Council Present a NEW Seminar Series on The Science of Environmental Justice

Come learn about how Cumulative Impacts and Community-Based Participatory Research Concepts are being applied to real life projects

The first speaker in this seminar series: Dr. Rajiv Bhatia
Occupational and Environmental Health, San Francisco Department of Public Health

Dr. Bhatia directs programs on Occupational and Environmental Health for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Under his leadership, the Department has begun new initiatives to improve neighborhood and housing conditions, to support worker labor rights, to enhance urban food quality, and to integrate public health and urban planning practices. The initiatives rely on extensive collaboration with public agencies and community organizations and make use of participatory research principles and methods.

Tuesday, April 19 from 11:30 am 1pm
75 Hawthorne Street, 1st floor conference rooms (Guam/Marianas)
San Francisco, California

Please RSVP to Debbie Lowe at lowe.debbie@epa.gov or 415-947-4155

ABSTRACT: Health promotion and environmental justice requires public policy to reflect an understanding of the cumulative effects of human environments on health as well as transparent, inclusive, and accountable public processes. Health impact assessment (HIA) is an emerging practice defined as “procedures or methods by which a proposed policy or program may be judged as to the effect(s) it may have on the health of a population.” HIA can advance healthful and equitable public policy by systematically accounting for the direct and indirect human health consequences of public policies and by supporting public participation. Internationally, Practitioners have applied HIA in diverse settings including land use and transportation planning. This presentation describes how a local public health agency has raised health issues in the Environmental Impact Assessment process in California. This work has occurred in collaboration with community organizations in order to highlight the health consequences of land use development decisions. The presentation informs several questions relevant to public health’s role in urban planning: How do policy makers view societal-level health determinants? What can public health contribute to urban planning, policy analysis, and decision-making? Who are the community and agency partners necessary for HIA efforts? Can HIA develop effectively within the framework of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

For more information on this seminar series,
contact Debbie Lowe at 415-947-4155 or lowe.debbie@epa.gov