Air Quality, Climate Change, and Health

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Healthy Communities Task Force (HCTF) is an information sharing and networking forum that brings together planners, public health professionals, and stakeholders in our communities with the goal of fostering healthier communities across Greater Philadelphia. Since its inception in 2014, the HCTF has hosted meetings on a variety of topics, including the intersections of health and climate change, housing, active transportation, segregation, racial equity, and safety.

The Climate Change Forum (formerly the Climate Adaptation Forum) is an ongoing series of DVRPC-hosted workshops and webinars focusing on the intersection of climate change and city and regional planning. The series brings together professionals, advocates, and community members who are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare the region for the impacts of climate change. Each event features one or more professionals presenting their work on specific climate change issues, followed by a moderated discussion with participation from forum attendees.

Air Quality, Climate Change, and Health is a joint meeting of the Climate Change Forum and the Healthy Communities Task Force. As the climate crisis continues to worsen, mitigating and preventing health issues brought on by poor outdoor air quality is very important. The aim of this meeting is to learn from the challenges and successes of local leaders and researchers actively working on these issues, as well as discuss strategies for communities to better prepare for the future.

Dr. Sheila Tripathy, a Senior Research Scientist at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health and Dr. Joshua Stratton, an Assistant Professor at Rider University, will present on some of their recent community air monitoring work, including projects in South and Southwest Philly and Trenton, NJ.  We will also hear from Russell Zerbo, an advocate with the Clean Air Council and Melissa Miles, Executive Director of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance.

This meeting will be held in-person at DVRPC’s offices (address and directions below).  We invite you to join us after the meeting for lunch and further conversation.

DVRPC’s Main Conference Room
The ACP Building – 8th Floor
190 N. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA
www.dvrpc.org/directions

This meeting offers 1.5 AICP CM credits.

CM#9277009