Latinos and African Americans in California breathe 40% more fine particulate matter from cars, trucks and buses than their White peers, according to a new study. This type of air particle pollution is so tiny—20 times smaller than the width of a human hair—it can penetrate deeply into the lungs and bloodstream. It is linked to heart and lung ailments, asthma attacks, and even death. This is bad news for Latinos, who are already disproportionately affected by air pollution in California. About 44% of Latinos live with poor air quality, compared to 25% of non-Latinos, according to a 2018 report. "California has made enormous strides over the past several decades to reduce overall pollution from vehicles, but this data shows people of color still breathe higher amounts of ...
U.S. streets are getting more dangerous and traffic congestion isn’t going away, so transportation leaders in Iowa are pushing a new idea to improve road safety. A road diet. A road diet takes away lanes, like converting a road from 4 lanes into a 2-lane street with a center turn lane, which usually slows traffic and improves safety and economic vitality, according to a new video from the Iowa Department of Transportation (IOWADOT) shared by Strong Towns. This thinking flies in the face of typical ideas of roadway expansions. "Curing congestion by adding more lanes is like curing obesity by buying bigger pants,” said notorious planner, Lewis Mumford.
The Unsustainability of Focusing on Solving Traffic Congestion
Our transportation network should protect and meet the ...
Incomplete streets cover Tucson. Sadly, each year, 50 people are killed and 5,000 injured on streets in this 43% Latino town. Half of major streets don’t have sidewalks, and people face dangerous congested roads and limited access to public transit to get to work, medical appointments, and more. But that could change soon. In February 2019, the Tucson City Council voted 7-0 to pass a Complete Streets policy to fund, plan, design, and build streets with all users in mind.
How Advocates Pushed Complete Streets in Tucson
Nationwide, cities are adopting Complete Streets policies. These streets meet the needs of people walking, people biking, people taking transit, and people driving, regardless of age or ability. These streets are especially needed in areas with large Latino ...
More than 5.6 millions Americans are drinking water with increasingly high amounts of nitrates known to cause health problems, according to a new study. Latinos are disproportionately exposed to nitrates in public water systems. "Since the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, there's been a real push to document other types of disparities in drinking water quality in the U.S. and understand the factors that drive them," said Dr. Laurel Schaider, lead author of the study in the Journal of Environmental Health and an environmental chemist at Silent Spring Institute, in a statement. "Because at the end of the day, everyone should have access to clean and safe drinking water regardless of your race or where you live."
The Shocking Study Results
For the study, scientists at the nonprofit ...
Roberto Clemente Middle School shut its doors in 1994 and sat empty for more than 10 years years in Philadelphia's Hunting Park, a predominantly Latino neighborhood. Not anymore. Local faith-based nonprofit Esperanza has turned the former school into 38 affordable housing units, which opened November 2018, Plan Philly reports. The site also has 5,000 square feet of commercial space. “It will now once again become a community asset, providing quality, affordable housing to Hunting Park residents,” said David Ortiz, Esperanza’s vice president of housing and economic development. But the school-turned-affordable-housing project is just one part of Esperanza's neighborhood revitalization plans.
Esperanza's Revitalization of Hunting Park
Hunting Park has higher poverty ...
The number of U.S. pedestrians struck and killed by drivers rose 35% in the past decade, with higher rates in lower-income than high-income neighborhoods, according to the new Dangerous by Design report from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. More people walking were killed in 2017 than any year on record since 1990. Why? Our streets aren’t getting safer. We continue to design streets that are dangerous for pedestrians, particularly for older adults, Latinos and other people of color, and those in low-income communities. “To reverse this trend and save lives, we need to protect all users of the transportation system through our policies, programs, and funding,” according to the Dangerous by Design report.
The Most Dangerous Places to ...
U.S. housing is at its least affordable in 10 years, according to a recent report. Lack of affordable housing has strong implications for many Latinos and greatly impacts their quality of life. Not enough attention is given to the impact of the low Latino homeownership rate on America’s ongoing economic recovery, and in turn, the future of the nation’s housing market and related issues. Let’s tweet with #SaludTues on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, to share how to shape and improve the future of affordable housing advocacy for Latino health and education. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: "The Future of Affordable Housing Advocacy for Latino Health & Education"
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: ...
Water and milk are now the "default beverage" on kid's menus in California, thanks to a new law that experts say is a public health win against the devastating effects of sugary drinks. The Healthy-By-Default Kids’ Meal Beverages Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2019, makes California (39.1% Latino) the first state to require water or milk as the beverage automatically offered with kids’ meals at restaurants, according to Voices For Healthy Kids. The change also bans the display of sugary drinks on kid's menus and ads.
A Win For California Parents
The new law is the first of its kind. Bipartisan legislators and health advocates supported the law, including Public Health Advocates, a Voices For Healthy Kids grantee. Latino Coalition for a Healthy California also showed ...
As the longest U.S. government shutdown in history marches on, Latinos and the most vulnerable people face losing federal support for their very homes. Tax credits are the U.S. government’s primary tool to encourage the development of affordable housing. The government grants the credits to developers, who then sell the credits to banks and other investors, who in turn use those credits to lower their own tax bills. According to CNN, the shutdown, which started Dec. 22, 2018, is creating uncertainty for tens of thousands of low-income tenants who rely on the federal government to help pay their rent. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hasn’t been able to renew about 1,650 contracts with private building owners who rent to low-income Americans and an ...
