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Strategy: How Transit-Oriented Development Benefit Latinos


Transit-oriented development and housing with a greenway for Latino families

This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary To improve access to affordable housing near public transport, Latinos would benefit from transport-oriented development projects in their neighborhoods that increase the stock of affordable housing centered around the transport hub. These projects should emphasize strong preemptive community involvement to limit displacement and gentrification that has frequently plagued these projects, and to maintain cultural authenticity in Latino neighborhoods that have undergone revitalization. What Is Transit-Oriented Development? Transit-oriented development is a model for neighborhood revitalization that can be defined as ‘walkable, dense, compact, mixed-use ...

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Strategy: How to Increase Affordable Housing in Latino Communities


Latino Hispanic family in new affordable housing

This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary Two forms of intervention could improve the current state of housing instability in Latino communities. First, devoting more resources toward keeping renting families in their homes, and second, increasing the number of affordable housing initiatives with the ultimate goal of increasing the stock of affordable housing in Latino communities. Keep Renters in Their Homes Toward the first goal, development of a program that could provide aid to renters who experience drastic, but temporary, loss of income due to job loss, medical emergency, or other unexpected financial burden could prevent many forced displacements. In 2009, Milwaukee tenants facing ...

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Research: Latino Communities Lack Accessible Green Space



This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary Latino communities lack green spaces that are safe, accessible, functional, and culturally relevant. What Are Green Spaces? Within urban, suburban, and rural communities, green space can be natural or maintained outdoor public space, such as parks, playgrounds, sporting fields, school yards, day care and early care yards, greenways/trails, tree-lined sidewalks, community gardens, nature conservation areas, forests, as well as less conventional urban “green alleyways,” “pocket parks,” and green walls or roofs [52]. Green Space Inequities Exist Unfortunately, access to and quality of green space is not equitably distributed. Compared with ...

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Research: Latinos Face Big Public Transportation Challenges



This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary U.S. Latinos report specific transportation challenges that arise due to the discrepancy between where Latinos live versus where they work. These challenges include transit fare affordability, reliability, and coverage. Latinos Use Public Transit Frequently According to the Pew Research Center, Americans who are lower-income, non-White, immigrants, or under 50 are most likely to use public transportation on a regular basis [39]. Among urban residents, 27% of Latinos use public transit daily or weekly, compared to 14% of non-Latino Whites, and foreign-born urban residents are 20% more likely to regularly use public transportation than native-born urban ...

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Research: Latino Rural Migration Led to Housing, Transportation Inequities


dilapidated housing rural affordable

This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary A pattern of Latino migration to small town and rural areas in the Southeast and Midwest instead of to traditional urban centers has led to the formation of isolated, segregated rural Latino communities with unique housing and transportation needs. The Latino Population Shift: From Urban to Rural Real estate and transportation trends have shown two prominent residential shifts among Latinos. First of all, in urban areas, Latinos are living farther from transport hubs and amenities, where housing is more affordable. Secondly, a large number of Latinos are migrating into new areas where jobs are available and rents are more affordable, primarily to ...

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Research: Latino Families Burdened by Housing Costs, Eviction



This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary An increasing number of Latinos are burdened by high housing costs and can even face possible eviction, displacing them from urban centers near public transport to the fringes of urban areas, where transport, services, and employment are more difficult to access. Housing Affects Health Currently at 58.6 million, Latinos account for more U.S. population growth than any other demographic [1]. Public policy has led to decades of disinvestment in low-income communities and communities of color in the United States, which has led to worsened physical and mental health in these communities [16, 17]. Health equity refers to the ability of all individuals to ...

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Introduction & Methods: Latino Housing, Transportation, and Green Space


tower of affordable housing

This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Abstract Across the United States, Latino communities vary in affordable housing, safe and adequate transit, parks and open green space, and other elements that are necessary to fully thrive and achieve health equity. These differences in opportunity result in health disparities between different zip codes or census tracts—with poor health outcomes more prevalent in communities of color and low-income communities. It is perhaps even more critical to address these underlying social, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to health than to address the health disparities directly if we are to hope for long term changes in community health and ...

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Report: Junk Food Advertised More to Latino, Black Kids



Disparities in advertising for unhealthy food continue to target Latino and Black youth, according to a new report from Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut, the Council on Black Health at Drexel University, and Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio. Eight out of 10 food ads seen by Latino children on Spanish-language TV promote fast food, candy, sugary drinks, and snacks. Unhealthy food marketing aimed at youth is a contributor to poor diets and related diseases, like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Targeting Latino and Black youth with unhealthy marketing contributes to disparities in health. That’s why the UConn Rudd Center first explored food-related TV advertising in 2013. Since then, the 10 companies with the most targeted ...

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