Health, Transportation, and the Power of Prevention: Reinventing Los Angeles for the Next Generation
By Manal Aboelata, Rachel Bennett and Sarah Mittermaier
April 11, 2014
If Los Angeles is really in the process of reinventing itself, how will we make sure that the "Next Los Angeles" works for future generations of Angelenos? Our children and their children will be more racially and ethnically diverse than we are. How will they navigate rising economic inequalities? What tools will they have to deal with the impacts of climate change? Will their neighborhood conditions prevent them from getting sick and injured in the first place?
More and more, research confirms that the places where we live, learn, work, and play shape our health. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "nearly one-fifth of all Americans live in unhealthy neighborhoods that are marked by limited job opportunities, low-quality housing, pollution, limited access to healthy food, and few opportunities for physical activity." People of color, low income people, and particularly African American children, are more likely than the rest of the population to live in unhealthy neighborhoods.