Public Health and Urban Planning Conference

[Career/Pro <cpro@igc.apc.org>]

CONFERENCE AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION  

Meeting the Urban Health Challenge: 
A Joint Public Health and Urban Planning Conference 
September 18, 1998, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm  
September 19, 1998, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm  
Convened by the Hunter College Center for Occupational & Environmental
 Health, City University of New York 

The following is an email version of the conference announcement and
registration form.  Please note that the form and your registration
payment (check or money order made out to the Research Foundation of CUNY)
must be returned by regular mail by August 14 to take advantage of the
early registration discount. Please forward this email to other potential
participants. 

This email contains the following sections: 

A. Who Should Attend This Conference?  
B. Co-Sponsors and Supporting Organizations 
C. Conference Background and Description 
D. Agenda Highlights 
E. REGISTRATION FORM 
F. For Hotel and Travel Information 
G. For Additional Information Contact 

A. Who Should Attend This Conference?  
Urban planning, public health, and environmental professionals, 
academics, researchers, students, and advocates; 

Local, state and federal government officials; 

Environmental consultants, engineers, preservationists and architects; 

Health care planners;  

Elected and appointed members of city councils, community boards and
committees, local and regional planning bodies;  

Leaders and members of community-based environmental groups, health
advocacy organizations, local development agencies, housing advocates and
other citizens groups; 

B. Co-Sponsors and Supporting Organizations  
Co-Sponsors: 
New York City (NYC) Department of Health       
NYC Department of City Planning 
NYC Department of Environmental Protection  
Pratt Institute Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment 
Hunter College Department of Urban Affairs      
and Planning                                                 
AKRF Environmental Consultants Inc. 
Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems (ICIS)and the Urban
Planning Program at New York University        
Office of The Bronx Borough President 
Office of the Manhattan Borough President 
Supporting Organizations: 
Public Health Association of NYC                       
NYC Environmental Justice Alliance 
(Lists in Formation) 

C. Conference Background and Description:  
Exploring the Urban Public Health and Planning Nexus 

At the turn of the century, the disciplines of public health and urban
planning emerged around the need to understand and prevent urban
outbreaks of infectious diseases. Interventions to diminish overcrowding, 
improve building conditions, control land use, protect water, identify and
control disease vectors and develop sanitation systems effectively controlled
many epidemics.  In the century that followed, the disciplines developed 
along divergent paths. Today there is little professional or regulatory 
overlap between them. Yet the persistence and reemergence of many urban 
health concerns demands that the fields reexplore their  connections.  

The goal of the conference is to re-explore and strengthen the links
between public health and urban planning to aid practitioners of both
disciplines in making more appropriate policy decisions"improving
professional education, and more adequately addressing key urban health
concerns that have arisen from the lack of attention to how the two
fields influence and inform each other.  

The conference will consider: 
- What research is needed to enhance understanding of the influence of
building regulation, land-use planning, zoning and other urban planning
strategies on environmental and space-related determinants of  public
health? 

- What organizational mechanisms, analytic tools, and data systems should
be developed to guide interdisciplinary research and interventions in
urban planning, environmental protection, and public health? 

- What models exist, both in practice and in theory, to guide or focus
integrative efforts?  

- Do urban development proposals and projects sufficiently consider
public health implications of development? Are environmental impact 
strategies sufficient for evaluating chronic and acute health impacts and 
effects on social environments? 

- What is the role of regulation in the search for sustainable and
healthy communities? 

- What is the role of public participation in public policy-making about
health issues in urban contexts? 

- How can academics, professionals, and government officials learn from
the practical experience of community leaders and citizens, and how can
this experience best inform the public policy process? 
Join us in exploring the answers to these questions. 

D. Agenda Highlights:  

Friday Conference Highlights  

Morning Sessions: 8:30 am 

Plenary Title: Shared Roots and Divergent Paths: An Introduction to the
Public Health and Urban Planning Nexus 

Featured Speakers:  

Nicholas Freudenberg, Director, Hunter College Program in Urban Public
Health and Executive Director, Hunter College Center on AIDS, Drugs and
Community Health 

Ximena de la Barra, Senior Urban Advisor, Office of Planning, United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 

Trevor Hancock, Associate Professor, York University Faculty of
Environmental Studies 

Session Title: Dimensions of the Urban Health and Planning Nexus 

Over 20 papers will be presented by an international group of
researchers, practitioners, community advocates and public officials in 
the following areas:  

Public Health and the Built Environment  
The Public Health Basis of Zoning Regulations 
Methods for Assessing Cumulative Impacts of Urban Health Hazards 
Social and Equity Issues Related to Health & Planning 
Urban Planning Interventions to Promote Community Health: Asthma,
Lead Poisoning and Violence Prevention 
Tools for Integrating Health, Planning and Environmental Data  

Afternoon Sessions 

Visiting the Nexus: Community Tours & Panel Discussions 
The conference will use New York City as a lens to focus our discussions.
Three tours have been designed in conjunction with local organizations
and leaders to illustrate concepts introduced in the morning sessions.
Conference participants are invited to select one community to tour. Each
visit is divided into two parts: a guided bus tour followed by a panel
and open discussion at a local meeting site to discuss the public health and
planning dimensions of urban problems and solutions identified in the
tours. Observations and conclusions from these tours will be important to
the work of Day Two. Sign up early to ensure placement on the trip of your
choice. Indicate your choice on the registration form. 

Community Tours:  
1.      Hunts Point, Longwood and Mott Haven (The Bronx) 
2.      West, Central and East Harlem (Manhattan) 
3.      Greenpoint and Williamsburg (Brooklyn)  

Saturday Conference Highlights:                

Morning Sessions: 9:00 am 

Poster Sessions: 
Presenters will be on hand to discuss their papers related to the
interdisciplinary themes of the conference. 

Panel Discussion:  
"Dimensions of a Joint Public Health and Urban Planning Agenda" 

A panel will discuss professional, structural, political and economic
factors that facilitate or hinder the development of interdisciplinary
solutions to urban health problems.   

Realizing the Agenda   
Concurrent Roundtables                 

The following facilitated roundtable discussions will be held in separate
breakout rooms:  

1. Promoting Coordination Among Planning, Public Health and Environmental
Agencies  
2. Developing an Interdisciplinary  Research Agenda  
3. Examining Actions and Strategies for Communities in Crisis 
4. Establishing Recommendations for the Collection and Standardization of
Data 
5. Creating Interdisciplinary Academic Curricula 

Other roundtables may be added. 

Afternoon Sessions 

Lunch featuring Address by 
Carol Browner, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(Invited) 

Wrap-Up and Closing Comments: 

This final plenary session will include reports from morning roundtables,
describe plans for the dissemination of results of the conference and
announce opportunities for continued dialogue among participants.  

Social Hour    

E. REGISTRATION FORM:  Copy this form and MAIL it with your payment to
the address below. 

Registration Fee includes admission to the two day conference, bus tours,
conference materials, Friday and Saturday Lunches.  

_____ Early Registration Fee $75 (Payment must be received by August 14,
1998)  
_____ Late Registration and On-Site Registration Fee $100  
_____ Student Registration Fee $50  

Refund Policy: Cancellations must be made in writing before September 1,
1998, and are subject to a $40 cancellation fee. 
(There are a limited number of community scholarships available. Circle
this sentence to receive application information.) 

1. Name: 

2. Title: 

3. Organization/School: 

4. Address: 

5. City: 

6. State: 

7. Zip: 

8. Telephone: 

9. Fax: 

10. E-mail: 

11. Your Name as it will appear on your nametag:

Preferred Community Tour (circle one)    
Manhattan   
The Bronx 
Brooklyn               

Your area of specialty is (circle one)  
Urban Planning 
Public Health 
Environment 
Other (list)                   

Please mail this completed form with your check made out to "Research
Foundation of CUNY" as soon as possible to:  
The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health 
Hunter College School of Health Sciences 
425 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 

F. For Hotel and Travel Information: 

Contact the New York City Convention and Vistors Bureau (212-397-8200) or
visit their excellent website at http://www.nycvisit.com. 

The conference will be held at the Hunter College Brookdale Campus at
1st. Avenue and 25th. Street.  

G. For Additional Information Contact: 
Hunter College COEH 
425 E. 25th Street, Box 621 
New York, NY 10010 
(212) 481-5172 (phone) 
(212) 481-8795 (fax) 
toutwate@hunter.cuny.edu