Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Substandard housing and environmental conditions threaten the health and wellbeing of individuals residing throughout the United States Empirical evidence on the relationship between housing and health has increased exponentially However despite the growth in research residents continue to be exposed to environmental health hazards Minorities and people in poverty are exposed to environmental health hazards at a disproportionately high rate Hazards such as lead mold pest infestation radon and carbon monoxide among others threaten individual safety and health and limit one's ability to access opportunity in society Moreover the effects of exposure can be farreaching Common approaches to healthy communities and homes fail to protect residents from exposure to environmental health hazards Federal state and local jurisdictions often rely on education and research regulation of real estate transactions heightened standards for special populations enactment of minimum habitability standards hazard mitigation and communitylevel interventions Taken together these approaches are fragmented reactive rather than preventive and underresourced As a result they are inadequate to prevent negative health consequences that accrue to residents This article analyzes the relationship between policies governing healthy communities and housing and health outcomes for residents Part I discusses how environmental and housing conditions affect community and individual health with a particular focus on conditions that cause lead poisoning asthma and respiratory distress and cancer Part II examines current federal state and local approaches to healthy housing policy including interventions directed at individual housing units as well as the community atlarge This part also analyzes the limitations of these policies that prevent residents from attaining good health Part III offers recommendations to improve health outcomes for individuals and communities

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