Civil and Systems Engineering Seminar: Megan Weil Latshaw

Description

Megan Latshaw, PhD '05, MHS '01, associate teaching professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, will give a talk titled "Transportation and Environmental Health" for the Civil and Systems Engineering (CaSE) Department.

Abstract:

Transportation provides access to education, jobs, health care, and healthy food. However, those who need these things the most are the least likely to have access to reliable transportation. Some communities make public transit the easy choice; not only does that mean better access to education, jobs, and more, but it also means lower levels of traffic, pollution, and greenhouse gases. Research also shows that taking public transit typically involves walking or biking to transit stations. Communities can also be designed to encourage these alternative forms of transit. All of these things—education, jobs, healthy food, pollution, greenhouse gases, and physical activity—impact our health. Modeling can help urban planners incorporate such complexities into the decision-making process.