Ensuring equitable access to healthy communities and safe workplaces
Healthy places to live, work and play are fundamental to population health. Yet in Washington and around the world, some communities bear a heavier burden of environmental health risks and on-the-job illnesses and injuries.
Industrial facilities, major roadways and landfills are disproportionately concentrated in communities that are home to minority populations and people with lower socioeconomic status, who often have unequal access to health care, recreational space, public transportation and other amenities.
On the job, these same groups face fewer employment opportunities, less job security and a greater likelihood of adverse health outcomes because of their exposure to hazardous pollutants and unsafe work conditions.
Our department promotes healthy, sustainable communities in the Pacific Northwest and around the globe through our research, teaching and service.
