RCE Greater Atlanta - 2019

Developing A Computer Based Application To Conduct Large Scale Healthy Housing
CSV
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Developing A Computer Based Application To Conduct Large Scale Healthy Housing
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Greater Atlanta
Contributing organization(s) : 
Greater Atlanta RCE
Center for Sustainable Communities
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Garry Harris
Organizational Affiliation: 
Center for Sustainable Communities
E-mail: 
gharris@htsenterprise.com
Format of project: 
Power Point
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
No
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Americas
Country: 
United States
Location(s): 
Hampton Roads, Virginia
Address of focal point institution for project: 
ECO District Hampton Roads--Southeastern Virginia
Ecosystem(s):
Urban/Peri-urban
Target Audience:
Community
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Largest African American community in the country; many residents at or below the poverty level. Over 5,000 homes in the community with many built in the late 1950's and early 60's based on non rigorous standards; not energy efficient, sustainable to mold and mildew; less than high quality living standards
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
Goal #3 Good Health and Well Being
Goal #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Goal #4 Good Education
Goal #7 Affordable Clean Energy
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Period: 
September, 2018
Rationale: 
Housing conditions can significantly affect public health. Many factors influence health and safety in homes, including structural and safety aspects of the home; quality of indoor air; water quality; chemicals; resident behavior; and the house's immediate surroundings. Such factors support or detract from the health of those who live there.

Childhood lead poisoning, injuries, respiratory diseases such as asthma, and quality of life issues have been linked to the more than 6 million substandard housing units nationwide. Residents of these units are also at increased risk for fire, falls, rodent bites, and other illnesses and injuries. Additional issues of concern include exposure to pesticide residues, tobacco smoke, and combustion gases.

Most public health efforts take a single issue approach to health and safety hazards in the home, focusing narrowly on one issue, even in the presence of multiple issues. A Healthy Homes approach is holistic and comprehensive and provides public health professionals, including environmental public health practitioners, public health nurses, and housing specialists, the requisite training and tools necessary to address the broad range of housing deficiencies and hazards associated with unhealthy and unsafe homes. As such we are developing an application that will help to access a large scale number of homes to ensure they are healthy especially for the senior population. The application will ensure homes are both healthy and energy efficient; especially given the large population of seniors in the ECO District. The ECO District is the largest African American community in the country, nearly 5,000 homes and over 12,000 residents;many of whom still live in homes built to lower standards
Objectives: 
The goals of project is to provide a means to assess and correct potential life threathening conditions that have the potential to exist in housing built to early codes and standards and/or were not well maintained allowing degraded conditions that may become life threathening. The application will also ensure ways the homes are made more energy efficient
Activities and/or practices employed: 
Audit of suspected homes or residence using tablet based protocol
Size of academic audience: 
200
Results: 
Students presented application to other students, faculty and community leaders in an open forum
Lessons learned: 
Ensure application can be used by community leaders
Housing styles and stock can vary immensely
Incorporate up to date lessons learned from other entities such as CDC, Enterprise Community Partners
Key messages: 
Living in a healthy homes is right not a privilege. Many homes today contain unseen hazards that threaten both our seniors as well as young infants. Therefore we must work collectively and with the use of technology mitigate these existing challenges to good healthy and ensure a high quality living standard of living for ALL.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
Environmental Justice Academy working group --Greater Atlanta RCE
Funding: 
Not a this time

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon healthy- home_Poster-540x344.png (331.31 KB) The Healthy Homes Model G Harris
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Direct
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Indirect
SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 
Direct
SDG 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries 
Direct
SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 
Direct
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Direct
SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss 
Indirect
SDG 16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 
Indirect
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Indirect
Theme
Traditional Knowledge  
Indirect
Curriculum Development 
Indirect
Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development – Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 3 - Building capacities of educators and trainers 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
Direct
Update: 
No