BUSPH Public Health Post: Prof. Sprague Martinez & Colleagues Study Relationship between Political History & Policy
In order for policymakers to make community-informed decisions, they must understand how complex political history determines environmental health action among those communities. To illustrate this necessity, BU School of Social Work Prof. Linda Sprague Martinez, Dr. Shir Lirman Ginzburg, and Sharon Ron from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Public Health Team have used a case study regarding the construction of I-93 and the affected communities’ responses. Both of the communities experienced similar concerns and side effects of the highway’s construction and use, but their approaches to addressing these problems were greatly influenced by differing histories with policy-making, discrimination, and access to political power.
Excerpt from “How Political History Shapes Environmental Health Action” by Linda Sprague Martinez, Shir Lirman Ginzburg, and Sharon Ron:
Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is a complex mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants found in vehicle emissions. CAFEH has identified viable TRAP mitigation strategies to reduce exposure. Strategies include in-home air filtration, closing windows, and timing outdoor activities to coincide with periods of low traffic. State and municipal strategies include changing building codes, land use, and transportation infrastructure, which require policy advocacy.
We studied how CAFEH partners are organizing to address the effects of odorless, colorless toxic UFPs, in two communities alongside I-93, the City of Somerville and Boston Chinatown. Somerville and Chinatown both fought steadfastly against the construction of I-93. Yet each lost segments of their communities to the highway and contend with TRAP-related health risks. Present-day approaches to public health activism in Somerville and Chinatown are quite different. Findings highlight the role politics and power, play in influencing TRAP-related public health action.”