Congratulations to SMEA student Kristin Hayman on being awarded a Population Health Initiative Tier 1 Pilot Research Grant Award. The funds will go towards Kristin’s work with public health practitioners and natural resource managers to systematically identify locations across the Puget Sound region where protection and restoration of urban green space have the greatest potential to enhance human health, abate health disparities, and further environmental resilience. For each of the 900+ census tracts in the region, they will combine estimates of exposure to green space, sensitivity to health outcomes, and population size. In doing so, they will identify communities where protection and restoration of urban green space could be prioritized to promote health. They will also identify communities where interventions to address underlying health disparities could be implemented to promote health.

The initial findings of this project will serve as the foundation for further transdisciplinary research on the potential of urban green space to help mitigate health disparities. Additionally, the data from this work will inform future implementation work by their partners. Once their multi-phase project is complete, they will know where green space protection, restoration or other interventions are needed to maximize health and abate health disparities in the Puget Sound region.