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Health & Infrastructure

As environments change, so too can disease burdens, and access to sustainable sources of food, energy, and shelter. The state of the built environment is a powerful indicator of public health—in a given community and worldwide—and U-M researchers are examining the interplay between food systems, legacy water and energy infrastructure, poverty and public policy, and human health. The Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Center, the Healthy Environments Partnership, Poverty Solutions, and other initiatives focus on ensuring that new approaches toward the built environment contribute to more equitable, just, and sustainable public health.

News and Impact

illustration of a blood vial
ALS diagnosis and survival linked to metals in blood, urine
water testing; Photo courtesy of iStock © kozorog
Forecasting ‘forever chemicals’ in U.S. waterways with AI
a lighthouse and lake shore; Photo by Gary Meulemans on Unsplash
U-M will lead new partnership on Great Lakes biodiversity
Rice bags
US rice exported to Haiti may be harmful to health
Catherine Hausman
Air pollution a long-term risk for low-income countries' prosperity
Zebra mussels cover a rock in a lake. Invasive mussels cost the U.S. an estimated $1 billion per year in removal and repair. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
UMSI launches theme year on water conservation and access
city skyline illustration
Identifying air pollution sources in Southwest Detroit
PVC piping
Rethinking PVC recycling
farm animals
Michigan's PBB contamination: 50 years later
a drawing of a school bus with various states of pollution
Upgraded school buses linked to increased student attendance
An older adult standing in front of a house during a storm
Risk of death for people with dementia increases after a hurricane exposure
Hands under a stream of water
How households adapt to water scarcity: New study sheds light on hidden costs of global Issue
cityscaope
Living labs to advance low-carbon building construction
Dolores Migdalia Perales (MS/MURP ’22)
Michigan sustainability case: A tale of two (polluted) cities
Yukun Sun, a graduate student research assistant, and William Leal, an undergraduate research assistant, both in the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at U-M, place microplastic pellets on the water in the wind wave tank at the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory. Image credit: Robert Coelius, Michigan Engineering
Tracking ocean microplastics from space
BlueConduit homepage top image
U-M startup joins White House partnership to remove lead pipes
The inaugural cohort of Transformative Food Systems fellows pictured at the U-M Campus Farm.
Fellowship provides students with learning and training to transform food systems
SEAS grad student Jaron Rothkop and Drew FitzGerald stand next to a Water Box at the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village in Flint, MI.
SEAS graduate student's project brings clean water to struggling communities
Illegal dumping in a vacant lot
$2.2M grant to increase understanding of the relationship between illegal dumping and community violence
stock clipart image of urban pollution
Air pollution tips the scale for obesity in women
Isabella Shehab
Examining the effects of flooding on Detroit residents' mental health
With the addition of a murine-derived biocatalyst (green), this engineered protein can add a fluoride atom to create macrolide analogs (structure, right). This approach offers a greener, more efficient method for creating new antibiotics. Image courtesy: Martin Grininger and Rajani Arora
Scientists develop greener, more efficient method for producing next-generation antibiotics