Twenty Important Research Questions in Microbial Exposure and Social Equity

Robinson, Jake M.; Redvers, Nicole; Camargo, Araceli; Bosch, Christina A.; Breed, Martin F.; Brenner, Lisa A.; Carney, Megan A.; Chauhan, Ashvini; Dasari, Mauna; Dietz, Leslie; Friedman, Michael; Grieneisen, Laura; Hoisington, Andrew J.; Horve, Patrick F.; Hunter, Ally; Jech, Sierra; Jørgensen, Anna; Lowry, Christopher A.; Man, Ioana; Mhuireach, Gwynne; Navarro-Pérez, Edauri; Ritchie, Euan G.; Stewart, James Monroe; Watkins, Harry; Weinstein, Philip M.; Ishaq, Suzanne L.

doi:10.1128/msystems.01240-21

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 230 publications

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“…Given the known associations between health, wellbeing and greenspace [ 13 , 14 , 23 , 39 , 48 , 71 ], this has important implications for current government policy and the desire for levelling up existing social inequalities. This is especially pertinent because disparities in quality living environments are critical drivers of health inequities [ 72 , 73 ]. For example, people living in areas of higher deprivation are more likely to be exposed to poor air quality [ 74 , 75 ] and poor quality greenspaces [ 18 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban centre green metrics in Great Britain: A geospatial and socioecological study

et al. 2022

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Green infrastructure plays a vital role in urban ecosystems. This includes sustaining biodiversity and human health. Despite a large number of studies investigating greenspace disparities in suburban areas, no known studies have compared the green attributes (e.g., trees, greenness, and greenspaces) of urban centres. Consequently, there may be uncharacterised socioecological disparities between the cores of urban areas (e.g., city centres). This is important because people spend considerable time in urban centres due to employment, retail and leisure opportunities. Therefore, the availability of––and disparities in––green infrastructure in urban centres can affect many lives and potentially underscore a socio-ecological justice issue. To facilitate comparisons between urban centres in Great Britain, we analysed open data of urban centre boundaries with a central business district and population of ≥100,000 (n = 68). Given the various elements that contribute to ‘greenness’, we combine a range of different measurements (trees, greenness, and accessible greenspaces) into a single indicator. We applied the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) to estimate the mean greenness of urban centres and the wider urban area (using a 1 km buffer) and determined the proportion of publicly accessible greenspace within each urban centre with Ordnance Survey Open Greenspace data. Finally, we applied a land cover classification algorithm using i-Tree Canopy to estimate tree coverage. This is the first study to define and rank urban centres based on multiple green attributes. The results suggest important differences in the proportion of green attributes between urban centres. For instance, Exeter scored the highest with a mean NDVI of 0.15, a tree coverage of 11.67%, and an OS Greenspace coverage of 0.05%, and Glasgow the lowest with a mean NDVI of 0.02, a tree cover of 1.95% and an OS Greenspace coverage of 0.00%. We also demonstrated that population size negatively associated with greenness and tree coverage, but not greenspaces, and that green attributes negatively associated with deprivation. This is important because it suggests that health-promoting and biodiversity-supporting resources diminish as population and deprivation increase. Disparities in green infrastructure across the country, along with the population and deprivation-associated trends, are important in terms of socioecological and equity justice. This study provides a baseline and stimulus to help local authorities and urban planners create and monitor equitable greening interventions in urban/city centres.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban centre green metrics in Great Britain: A geospatial and socioecological study

et al. 2022

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“…Thankfully there is growing recognition from some academic and publicly funded institutions of the reciprocal advantages of collaboration with Indigenous Peoples ( 42 – 44 ), through the acknowledgment of their deep-rooted cultural ties to land, and the immense value of Indigenous knowledge in areas such as ecology and conservation. This knowledge and its generational connection to sustaining ecosystems is critical to combatting a range of contemporary environmental challenges ( 45 ), including access to safe and adequate exposures of health-promoting environmental microbiomes.…”

Section: Leading Indigenous Microbiome Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous Knowledge and the Microbiome—Bridging the Disconnect between Colonized Places, Peoples, and the Unseen Influences That Shape Our Health and Well-Being

2023

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Indigenous Peoples have a rich and long-standing connection with the environments that they descend from—a connection that has informed a deep and multifaceted understanding of the relationship between human well-being and the environment. Through cultural narratives and practices, much of this knowledge has endured despite the ongoing effects that colonization has had on many Indigenous peoples across the world.

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“…Thus, the concept of “dysbiotic drift” with progressive westernization reflects how both an increase of detrimental factors and a decline of beneficial factors adversely impact the human microbiome 11 . While many of these have been considered “lifestyle” factors—implying personal blame for easily modifiable choices—this overlooks the unequal opportunities, pervasive marketing, structural barriers, and excessive burden in marginalized communities, where the total lived environment has greater potential to push dysbiosis and inflammation by default 79 . Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with increased risk of psychological distress, circadian disruptions, lower availability of fresh produce coincident with higher concentration of convenience stores and fast‐food outlets, greater airborne particulate matter, targeted marketing of unhealthy products, aircraft/road/industrial noise, and diminished access to safe parks/greenspace 80 .…”

Section: The Microbiome As a Mediator And A Measure Of Unhealthy Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exiting the Anthropocene: Achieving personal and planetary health in the 21st century

Prescott

Logan²,

Bristow³

et al. 2022

Allergy

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Planetary health provides a perspective of ecological interdependence that connects the health and vitality of individuals, communities, and Earth's natural systems. It includes the social, political, and economic ecosystems that influence both individuals and whole societies. In an era of interconnected grand challenges threatening health of all systems at all scales, planetary health provides a framework for cross-sectoral collaboration and unified systems approaches to solutions. The field of allergy is at the forefront of these efforts. Allergic conditions are a sentinel measure of environmental impact on human health in early life-illuminating how ecological changes affect immune development and predispose to a wider range of inflammatory noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This shows how adverse macroscale ecology in the Anthropocene penetrates to the molecular level of personal and microscale ecology, including the microbial systems at the foundations of all ecosystems. It provides the

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Twenty Important Research Questions in Microbial Exposure and Social Equity

Cited by 17 publications

References 230 publications

Urban centre green metrics in Great Britain: A geospatial and socioecological study

Urban centre green metrics in Great Britain: A geospatial and socioecological study

Indigenous Knowledge and the Microbiome—Bridging the Disconnect between Colonized Places, Peoples, and the Unseen Influences That Shape Our Health and Well-Being

Exiting the Anthropocene: Achieving personal and planetary health in the 21st century

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