Section leader: Gwynne Mhuireach
The relationship between health and greenspace is well-established. There is also a recognized association between social equity and distribution of greenspace in many cities—parks are often larger, higher quality, and more prevalent in higher-income, upper-class neighborhoods; private yards and gardens are a luxury sometimes inaccessible to lower-income households; even street trees tend to be older, larger, and more numerous in higher income neighborhoods. New evidence shows that exposure to microbial diversity may be an important ecosystem service provided by urban greenspace, as exposure to greater microbial diversity early in life is related to lower prevalence of autoimmune disorders, such as allergies and asthma. This session will explore how environmental justice can be used to resolve health, microbial, and land access disparities.
Session speakers: (some speakers pending)
Charlene Nielsen, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Ashish Pathak, Ph.D., Research Scientist/Adjunct Professor, Florida A & M University, and Ashvini Chauhan, Ph.D., Professor, Florida A&M University
Prior to this session, you may want to watch these recorded talks:
- “An Indigenous Micro- to Meta-Narrative: Microbes and Social Equity”, Dr. Nicole Redvers, ND, MPH. February 10, 2021.
- “Connecting environmental microbiomes to social (in)equity across temporal and ecological scales”, Dr. Erin Eggleston and Dr. Mallory Choudoir. March 3, 2021.
- “Embodied microbiomes: a 4E-cognition perspective on microbial life and social equity”, Dr. Francisco Parada Flores, PhD. March 24, 2021.
