Insights
Jul 9, 2024 _ insights
The Health Equity Framework: Improving Resilience Through Design
Resilience is an equity issue, directly linked to the resources a person has to cope with environmental stressors. The lack of these social, physical, and economic resources leads to adverse health outcomes. The places and spaces we inhabit have a significant impact on our health but there is little practical guidance for health facilities on best practices for health equity.
The exposome is the environmental and socioeconomic conditions that impact an individual’s well-being and how architecture can contribute to positive health outcomes. Our recent poster presentation at the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit shared how some of the resilience factors related to the exposome impact individuals, buildings, and communities, and how through this metric, we aim to make resilience more visible and quantifiable to help inform health equity decisions. Our poster included information on what makes a community healthy or sick; how resilience, sustainability, and equity are related; and how the built environment can provide a wellness intervention.
We study social determinants of health in conjunction with environmental conditions including health beyond buildings, welcoming and inclusive spaces and regenerative design for the development of equitable communities where everyone can thrive. This resulted in a health equity framework that accounts for environmental and socioeconomic factors in the exposome to provide resilience at multiple scales. The framework helps to ensure that an equity focused lens is applied to the salutogenic strategies to increase the efficacy and relevance of the design to the population served.
Tiffany Broyles Yost AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Amb., is an associate principal and director of sustainability & resilience at GBBN. Tiffany provides strategic leadership for sustainable design across the firm’s portfolio of projects, manages the research of the firm’s Sustainability Action Network, oversees our Sustainability Action Plan and spearheads related educational initiatives. Her work includes sustainable design on projects at all scales from international tower mixed-use buildings to single story existing building renovations. Tiffany serves on several non-profit boards and committees including the Greenbuild Summit Advisory Board, the Fitwel Advisory Council, the Louisville Sustainability Council, and the Green Umbrella/Cincinnati 2030 District Health Strategy Committee.
Greg Coni AIA, CPHC, is an associate at GBBN. A Certified Passive House Consultant, Greg is passionate about sustainable, resilient design. He loves tackling the complexity of healthcare projects to ensure all the pieces fit efficiently together inside high-performing exteriors. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Down Syndrome Association of Pittsburgh, volunteers as a Student Mentor with the ACE Mentor Program, Western Pennsylvania and is involved with multiple committees for AIA Pittsburgh.
Angela Mazzi
FAIA, FACHA, EDAC is a principal at GBBN. Harnessing studies on human psychology, research on our biological need for nature, a focus on clinical workspaces, and experience with Lean strategies, Angela creates exceptional environments that empower patients and practitioners. She regularly presents and publishes her research in industry and peer reviewed journals and is sought out by Healthcare Design Magazine, the New York Times, and other publications to share her healthcare expertise with their readers.
