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EPA’s EnviroAtlas: Identifying Nature’s Benefits, Deficits, and Opportunities for Equitable Distribution in Populated Places
Citation:
Jackson, L., A. Neale, AND K. Bush. EPA’s EnviroAtlas: Identifying Nature’s Benefits, Deficits, and Opportunities for Equitable Distribution in Populated Places. American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA, November 15 - 19, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
To communicate a publicly available web mapping tool on the health beneftis of urban green infrastructure for community planning, health impact assessments, and social justice interventions.
Description:
Background Cities, towns, and Tribes rely on clean air, water and other natural resources for public health and well-being. Yet natural infrastructure and its benefits are not always fully understood or considered in local decisions. EnviroAtlas is a web-based, easy-to-use mapping tool designed for citizens, students, and professionals to assess the status of local and watershed “green” assets, their relevance to human health and well-being, current threats and future opportunities. Aims Online maps, analysis tools, and descriptive information address seven environmental benefit categories: - Clean air - Clean and plentiful water - Natural hazard mitigation - Climate stabilization - Recreation, culture, and aesthetics - Food, fuel, and materials - Biodiversity conservation In addition to extensive national datasets, a high-resolution component for selected communities features one-meter resolution landcover data and 100+ “green infrastructure” and related maps summarized by block-group. Demographic data and built environment metrics are also provided at this scale for overlays and analyses. Methods Information in the community component reflects current and emerging science on how the distribution of natural infrastructure may affect public health. Some maps provide numeric health estimates based on meta-analyses of published studies. Other maps suggest where health benefits are likely or lacking, accompanied by fact sheets that document supporting research, data sources, limitations, and suggested uses. Results Community maps and information are currently available for the following issues: - Extreme heat events - Ambient and near-road air pollution - Quality of downstream drinking and recreational waters - Opportunities for physical exercise, outdoor experience, and play - Disproportionate population vulnerabilities & unequal distribution of natural assets Conclusions EnviroAtlas helps identify where natural infrastructure meets community demand and where supply falls short. The initial public release includes six pilot communities—Durham, NC; Portland, ME; Tampa, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; Milwaukee, WI; and Phoenix, AZ—50 communities are targeted by 2017.