Making Safer, Healthier Urban Neighborhoods

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This week, we think about remaking urban living. In the middle of the 20th century, young families began streaming out of cities, tempted by lawns, two-car garages, and spacious homes.

In the last twenty years, though, cities including Boston have lured suburbanites back, as creative planners brought new patches of green to cities and looked at how urban spaces could foster communities.

First, we tackle the problem of underserved urban communities. How do you redesign environment to enhance public health, to boost exercise, to discourage crime?

Guests:

• Russ Lopez, senior research associate at the Dukakis Center at Northeastern University; author, Building American Public Health: Urban Planning, Architecture and the Quest for Better Health in the United States (forthcoming)

• Joel Wool, community advocate at GreenDorchester

• Steve Miller, executive director, Healthy Weight Initiative, at Harvard School of Public Health; founding member, board of directors, LivableStreets Alliance.