Climate change is putting significant stress on human populations and the built environment in ways that directly affect morbidity and mortality globally. As we move further into the twenty-first century, home environments will continue to be the microenvironment where most people experience the effects of a changing climate. At the same time, these spaces continue to be associated with environmental exposures which are underappreciated and unaddressed, especially for the nearly 1 billion urban poor who live in informal settlements. This presentation will focus on identifying the major factors and trends that shape the changing nature of indoor environments globally, with particular attention on the Global South where the evidence base is sparse and the vulnerabilities are notable. Evidence from building design and urban planning considerations, thermal comfort modeling, empirical climate studies, and the epidemiological literature will be synthesized into a roadmap identifying key global vulnerabilities related to the housing sector. Factors that exacerbate existing urban health inequities will be highlighted.
Speaker: Prof. Gary ADAMKIEWICZ
Date: 29 October 2024 (Tuesday)
Time: 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Poster: Click here
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Biography
Gary Adamkiewicz is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health and Exposure Disparities at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), where he leads the Healthy Cities Lab (www.healthycitieslab.org). Prof. Adamkiewicz’s work focuses on the connections between housing and health, and on understanding disparities in environmental exposures. His research has included studies of indoor environmental conditions within the homes of children with asthma, and studies that aim to understand the housing factors that contribute to environmental risks. He has worked with global, national, and local agencies on projects that aim to reduce the burden of disease from environmental issues. Prof. Adamkiewicz has served as a member of the Science Advisory Committee for the National Center for Healthy Housing and has served on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Technical Guidance Review Panel, under the auspices of the agency’s Science Advisory Board. He has also served as an advisor to the World Health Organization’s effort to establish indoor air quality guidelines. Prof. Adamkiewicz holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Public Health from HSPH.