[Durham INC] Report on Durham's built environment (including several maps of in-town neighborhoods)

[John Schelp]

folks,

Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment has just released a Community Assessment report on Durham's built environment. 

The report includes several maps of Durham's in-town neighborhoods -- showing Housing characteristics & conditions, Assessed Tax Values, Renter Occupancies, Unoccupied Parcels, House Damage, Neighborhood conditions, Deferred Maintenance, Public Nuisances, Community Resources, Food Access & Health Care, Neighborhood Safety, Security Levels, Demographics, Percent of the Population Living in Poverty, etc.

About the built environment (from the report)...

> Deteriorating housing, inadequate access to health care, poor schools, unemployment, crime, and poverty create a network of conditions that may lead to negative impacts on the well-being of communities. This pattern is especially severe for low income and minority communities, with significant health implications for both adults and children.

> Elements of the built environment can influence health through direct exposure and indirectly by creating social stress and influencing patterns of risky behaviors. The built environment includes:

* residential and commercial buildings 

* roads and sidewalks 

* churches, schools, and community centers 

* parks 

* empty lots and vacant structures 

> The Children's Environmental Health Initiative seeks to understand the relationship between the built environment and public health and work with stakeholders to identify ways to improve Durham's built environment.

Click here to see the report and maps of Durham neighborhoods... http://cehi.env.duke.edu/cap/index.html

It's worth a read.

~John Schelp
old west durham :: www.owdna.org