Public health expert Richard Jackson to discuss ‘We Are What We Build’

Urban sprawl, a lack of green spaces and roads unsafe for pedestrians are among the common aspects of the “built environment” harmful to public health, according to national expert Richard Jackson.

A leading voice in the movement to shape “built environment” with an emphasis on public health, Jackson will present “We Are What We Build – Building for Health” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 8, at UNC Charlotte Center City. The talk is for the annual Blue Cross Blue Shield Dialogue for a Healthier Charlotte and is organized by the College of Health and Human Services and BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina.

A professor in UCLA’s Environmental Health Sciences Department and former director of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, Jackson has spent much of his career studying the relationship between the contours of a city and the health of its inhabitants. He has stated, “I believe we have built America in a way this is fundamentally unhealthy.”

Obesity, asthma, diabetes and heart disease are all aggravated by the auto-centric way Americans live their lives. Jackson is calling for a radical rethinking of the way America builds its neighborhoods; he says it’s “time for a shift to communities designed to facilitate physical and mental well-being.”

Jackson was host for “Designing Health Communities,” a four-part PBS series that premiered in 2011.

The April 8 talk “We Are What We Build – Building for Health” is free and open to the public; however RSVPs are requested. This event also coincides with National Public Health Week, which is April 6-12.