Where We Live Impacts How We Live | Shannon Kraus | TEDxPlano
Summary
TLDRThe speaker reflects on childhood curiosity and creative disruption, now channeled into a career as an architect focused on improving health through design. The talk emphasizes how social, economic, and environmental factors influence well-being more than healthcare itself. Through examples like Roseto, a close-knit Italian community, and projects in Eastern Africa and Washington D.C., the speaker illustrates how design can foster healthier communities. The message encourages using 'design thinking' to positively impact communities by addressing challenges and fostering collaboration, showing that anyone can be a catalyst for change through care and creativity.
Takeaways
- 🏗️ The speaker's childhood curiosity and creativity led to a career in architecture and strategic thinking, focusing on improving well-being through design.
- 🌐 In the United States, health care costs are high, but health outcomes are poor, suggesting that the focus should shift towards community and environmental factors.
- 🔑 Only 20% of health and well-being is attributed to health care, while 80% is linked to social, economic, environmental, and behavioral factors.
- 📈 Life expectancy can vary significantly within the same city, highlighting the impact of where we live on our health.
- 🏠 The story of Roseto, Pennsylvania, demonstrates how a close-knit community with low stress can lead to better health outcomes.
- 🚗 Modern lifestyles centered around cars have led to less physical activity and increased stress, negatively impacting health.
- 🌱 The physical environment plays a significant role in health, and designing healthier communities can improve well-being.
- 🌍 Design thinking can be applied to create healthier communities, even in places with limited resources, like Ketchum Bala, Africa.
- 🌿 The Urban Food Studio in Washington DC is an example of how design thinking can improve access to healthy food and educate communities.
- 💡 Design thinking is an iterative method for problem-solving that considers social, cultural, and environmental variables to create thriving communities.
- 🌊 The impact of design thinking is not limited to the initial solution but can create a ripple effect, benefiting communities in multiple ways.
Q & A
What motivated the speaker’s early interest in exploring and creative problem-solving?
-The speaker’s early interest in exploring and creative problem-solving was sparked by childhood experiences, such as climbing a radio antenna and taking apart toys to understand how they worked. These activities, initially seen as mischievous by his parents, laid the foundation for his career as an architect and strategic thinker, driven by the idea of 'creative disruption.'
What is the main argument the speaker presents about health care in the United States?
-The speaker argues that while much attention is focused on health care and its costs, only 20% of our health and well-being is attributed to health care access. The remaining 80% is influenced by social, economic, environmental, and behavioral factors, highlighting the need to shift focus to these areas to improve public health.
How does the story of Roseto, Pennsylvania, illustrate the importance of community to health?
-The story of Roseto, Pennsylvania, illustrates that a close-knit, interdependent community had lower stress levels and a significantly lower rate of heart disease compared to neighboring towns. Despite unhealthy habits like smoking and eating fried foods, the town's strong social bonds contributed to their overall better health, demonstrating the profound impact of community on well-being.
What changes did researchers observe in Roseto 30 years later, and what caused them?
-Thirty years later, researchers found that Roseto's heart disease rates had risen to match those of the rest of the country. This change was attributed to the breakdown of the close-knit community as suburbanization and social isolation increased, leading to higher stress levels and a decline in health.
What example does the speaker provide to demonstrate how design can impact health in underprivileged areas?
-The speaker discusses a project in Ketchum Bala, a village in eastern Africa, where new birthing facilities were designed in collaboration with the community. By training local workers in construction and healthcare, the project not only improved health outcomes for mothers and babies but also empowered the community with new skills, illustrating the ripple effect of design on health and well-being.
How does the speaker suggest that our built environment affects health in modern society?
-The speaker suggests that modern car-oriented suburbs discourage healthy behaviors like walking and lead to increased stress. Walkable neighborhoods, in contrast, promote healthier lifestyles. The speaker advocates for designing environments that encourage physical activity and reduce stress to improve overall well-being.
What is 'design thinking,' according to the speaker, and how does it relate to community health?
-Design thinking is described as an iterative, creative problem-solving method that considers social, cultural, and environmental factors to create solutions that help communities thrive. It can influence not only immediate issues but also generate positive 'ripple effects' that improve health and well-being over time.
What example does the speaker provide from Washington, DC, to demonstrate how design can address food access and health?
-The speaker shares the example of the Urban Food Studio in Washington, DC, created by the Capital Area Food Bank. This project combines sustainable design with nutrition education and gardening, teaching individuals and families how to grow their own food. It addresses food access, which is a root determinant of health, and empowers people to make healthier choices.
How did the speaker’s personal experience during the 2013 Boston Marathon influence their view on community?
-During the 2013 Boston Marathon, the speaker witnessed spectators and strangers coming together to help runners affected by the bombing, despite the fear and chaos. This experience reinforced the speaker's belief in the power of community and shared humanity to address challenges, including health and well-being.
What final call to action does the speaker give to the audience regarding design and health?
-The speaker encourages everyone, regardless of profession, to engage in 'design thinking' to improve community health. By observing, engaging, and collaborating with groups working on local challenges, individuals can create a ripple effect of positive change, shaping healthier communities through thoughtful design and problem-solving.
Outlines
🚀 Early Exploration and Creative Disruption
The speaker reflects on their adventurous childhood, recounting stories of climbing a radio antenna and taking apart toys. This early curiosity, while viewed as mischievous by others, was seen as a form of 'creative disruption.' The speaker connects these experiences to their current career as an architect and strategic thinker, focusing on design and challenging perspectives to address complex social issues, particularly around community and well-being.
🏥 The Disconnect Between Health Care and Health
The speaker introduces the idea that despite the U.S. spending more on health care than any other country, its health outcomes are poor, such as low rankings in life expectancy and infant mortality. They argue that focusing only on health care costs misses a larger issue—only 20% of health is attributed to health care access, while 80% is determined by social, economic, and environmental factors. These factors, like where we live, significantly affect chronic diseases and overall health.
🏘️ The Roseto Mystery: Health in Close-Knit Communities
A story about Roseto, a small town in Pennsylvania in the 1960s, illustrates how community and social interaction impacted health. Despite unhealthy habits like smoking and eating fried foods, the town had low heart disease rates, which researchers linked to the community’s strong social bonds and low stress. However, as suburbs expanded and isolation grew, this changed, and Roseto’s heart disease rates eventually aligned with the rest of the country, emphasizing how social structure affects health.
🚶♂️ The Modern Lifestyle and Health Decline
The speaker highlights how modern suburban life, with its dependence on cars, lack of walkability, and limited access to fresh produce, has contributed to declining health in the U.S. Children walk less, food deserts have grown, and stress levels have risen. However, they suggest that since physical environments greatly impact health, creating healthier communities can significantly improve well-being. By focusing on how we design neighborhoods and cities, we can foster healthier lifestyles.
🌍 Building Healthier Communities Through Design in Africa
The speaker shares an example from Ketchum Bala, a village in eastern Africa, where local community members worked together to build new medical facilities. Despite poverty and a lack of resources, sustainable construction methods were used, and community members gained valuable skills. The story of Julianne, a woman trained to assist with childbirth, shows how design can directly impact community health. This project illustrates how collaboration and local engagement are critical to creating lasting change.
🌱 Urban Food Studio: Growing Healthier Communities
In Washington D.C., the Capital Area Food Bank created an 'Urban Food Studio' to address food insecurity. It expanded a garden into a multipurpose space that provides cooking workshops, gardening education, and sustainable practices. The initiative shows how improving access to food is about more than just providing meals—it's about empowering communities to make healthier choices through design and education. The studio demonstrates how local action can have a significant impact on health.
🌊 The Ripple Effect of Design Thinking
The speaker emphasizes how 'design thinking'—a creative, problem-solving approach—can create ripples of positive impact beyond the initial project. Using examples from Ketchum Bala and the Urban Food Studio, they explain how small changes in design can lead to broader improvements in areas like skilled labor, sustainability, and access to food. By focusing on how physical environments influence behavior, design thinking encourages healthier communities.
💪 Personal Stories of Community Resilience
The speaker recounts their experience at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, witnessing how strangers came together to support one another in a time of crisis. They draw parallels between this shared humanity and the need for communities to unite and solve health challenges together. The message is that while political systems focus on 20% of health issues (health care), the remaining 80%—determined by social and environmental factors—can be influenced by community efforts and design thinking.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Creative disruption
💡Social determinants of health
💡Roseto effect
💡Built environment
💡Design thinking
💡Community infrastructure
💡Urban food studio
💡Walkability
💡Health care reform
💡Ripple effect
Highlights
The speaker reflects on their childhood experience of creative disruption, where curiosity and exploration were key to understanding their environment.
Only 20% of health and well-being is attributed to quality and access to health care, while 80% is linked to social, economic, environmental, and behavioral factors.
Life expectancy can be determined by your zip code, with studies showing significant differences in life spans between neighborhoods.
The story of Roseto, a town in Pennsylvania, where strong community bonds led to reduced stress and better health outcomes, even though the residents engaged in unhealthy behaviors like smoking and drinking.
By the 1990s, as suburbs expanded and community cohesion diminished, Roseto’s health advantages disappeared, illustrating the impact of social isolation.
Modern urban design promotes car-oriented suburbs that discourage walking and contribute to the rise in chronic diseases like obesity.
The speaker advocates for investing in healthier communities through design rather than solely focusing on health care reform.
Ketchum Bala Agonda, an African village, benefited from community-led design, where a project trained locals in construction skills and sustainable methods, leading to improved health infrastructure.
Julianne, a local woman in Ketchum Bala, was trained to deliver premature babies during the construction of new facilities, directly saving lives and improving community health.
The DC Central Kitchen's Urban Food Studio helps combat food insecurity by teaching urban families how to grow food, using sustainable methods like rainwater collection and solar energy.
Design thinking is emphasized as a method for practical, creative problem-solving that takes into account social, cultural, and environmental factors.
The ripple effect of design thinking can go beyond the initial project, improving broader community health and infrastructure.
The speaker highlights the importance of engaging with and collaborating on local issues to create healthier communities.
A personal story from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing emphasizes the power of community, where strangers came together to support one another despite the chaos.
The speaker concludes that the solution to health challenges lies in our shared humanity and the 80% of health factors we can control, advocating for community-driven change through design thinking.
Transcripts
[Music]
so when I was growing up I was always
exploring from just about the time I
could walk whenever I go over to my
grandparents house I would sneak out and
climb this radio antenna you get some of
you may know what that is radio antenna
up the side of the house and get onto
the roof even though I knew I would get
into trouble and let's just say the fire
department may have been called on one
occasion other times I would take apart
my toys new or old just to see how
they'd work or to reconstruct them as
something else well I'm sure my parents
thought of it as me being mischievous I
now think of it as creative disruption I
enjoy how even a small shift in
perspective can open up new
possibilities now as an architect and
strategic thinker my career's largely
devoted to doing just that by creating
buildings and places that help improve
the well-being of others a career
focused on design which challenges me to
see things from multiple perspectives on
the issues that we face so today at a
time when we're increasingly socially
divisive in tempted to isolate ourselves
I want to talk with you about the
impacts on your health the importance of
community and the role of design in
addressing these challenges I want to
shift your perspective in the United
States today we spend more annually on
health care than any other country in
the world and yet we rank last by almost
any measure
we're 39th in infant mortality 36 and
life expectancy just to name two when
you look at the headlines much of our
time and attention is focused on health
care and its rising cost now clearly
this is an issue that can and must be
addressed but what if I told you we
might be looking at the problem from the
wrong perspective what if I told you
that just 20% of our health and
well-being is attributed to your quality
and access of health care
research shows that 80% 80% of your
health and well-being is directly
attributed to social economic
environmental and behavioral factors
factors which trigger sharp rises and
chronic diseases like obesity and
diabetes factors which relate both
directly and indirectly to how and where
we live your life expectancy is
dependent on your zip code a 2013 Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation study found that
has fused two train stops in the same
city can mean a seven-year difference in
life expectancy 13 years in some
locations
now before you pack your bags you should
know this is true of Detroit Dallas DC
El Paso pretty much most places why
because where we live impacts how we
live I want to share a story that
illustrates this in the 1960s there's a
small rural town in eastern Pennsylvania
called Roseto
Rosetta was an Italian immigrant
community named after a town in Italy
that featured closely spaced houses and
walkable streets at zero crime rate zero
suicides and a heart disease rate that
was nearly half that of the national
average as well as neighboring towns
they'd have a single death under the age
of 45 due to heart disease men were
living so much longer that there were
more widowers than widows what was truly
remarkable is that they worked in stone
mines ate fried foods drank wine in
abundance and smoked habitually they did
pretty much all the things that health
professionals warned against and yet
they lived longer why researchers
studied the town pored over death
records and what they found is that they
live longer because they were less
stressed they were less stressed because
they looked out for one another in a
close-knit community if one family was
sick others pitched in families would
cook meals together town elders would
help take care of the kids imagine a
town where weddings was spread out from
the church into the neighborhood streets
there wasn't a social hierarchy there
wasn't this keeping up with the Joneses
mentality
in short they shed stress in a very
healthy way interdependently together
and drink as much as they wanted however
researchers also made a prediction that
within a generation as suburbs expanded
houses grew fences popped up that social
economic isolationism would set in and
change this the community would divide
stress would rise and health would
decline so they went back in the 1990s
thirty years later study the town again
and found this to be true today risotto
has the same heart disease rate as
anywhere in the United States where we
live impacts how we live unfortunately
today our lifestyles totally geared
around cars we drive more and walk less
children walk or ride a bike to school
fifty percent less than they did just
thirty years ago that's a drop from
sixty percent to just ten percent
many of us live in food deserts where
fresh produce is non-existent and fast
food is most convenient over the last
sixty years we have slowly and
methodically replaced walkable
neighborhoods walkable communities with
car oriented suburbs that not only limit
healthy behavior but may then discourage
it our stress has never been higher now
there is good news the good news is that
our physical environment where we live
work play and heal does account for much
of our health that we can control so the
solution doesn't rest alone in improving
the delivery of health care it rests in
delivering healthier communities imagine
if we could take even a small amount of
the effort underway with health care
reform and reinvest that into how and
where we live and what if we could do
that through design think about it in my
profession as an architect today we
design green buildings to be resource
and energy efficient to do less harm to
an effect be less bad but what if
tomorrow we design buildings in places
that actually promote and encourage
health and well-being this is where the
opportunity lies so that where we live
impacts how we live in a positive way
not only is this happening but is
happening in a place with limited
resources little skilled labor and
virtually no infrastructure Ketchum Bala
agonda is a village in eastern Africa
rich in tradition and culture this is
evident through their celebrations where
men women and children dress at vibrant
clothing and celebrate together however
it's also one of the country's most
impoverished two dollars a day
is the average Admiral annual income
life expectancies 15 years below global
average at 56 years infant mortalities
double the global average with one in 26
newborns dying before their first
birthday now some of this is due to a
need for better medical facilities but
much of it is due to community
infrastructure and resources women would
be turned away from the birthing center
due to capacity issues some after
travelling long distances on the back of
a motorbike while already in labor many
wouldn't make the trip often the result
is women giving birth at home without
assistance or sterile equipment clearly
new facilities were needed but in a way
that would work for and be embraced by
the community this is not something that
could be dropped in from afar by
Outsiders that assume they know it's
best to be successful the design had to
be in collaboration with the community
the real solution had to come from
within ultimately the way it was built
and who built it had to be adapted with
a lack of reliable infrastructure such
as power and water and a scarcity of
materials sustainability what an option
it was absolute to help with
unemployment and to improve skilled
trades 40 community workers were trained
in regional construction techniques such
as making mud bricks by hand techniques
they can now carry to other jobs and
other services
however training wasn't just limited to
construction workers as one example I
want you to meet Julianne
Julianne was trained by a midwife during
the construction of the project and how
to deliver premature babies in just a
few short months Julianne has helped
deliver several premature babies that
otherwise would not have survived
now Julianne in her village illustrate
how a single project it positively
impact the trajectory of a community
starting with expecting mothers but
extending to other families and now
skilled workers who can afford an
education for their kids they didn't
just build a building they used design
to help shape the health of their
community now for an example closer to
home there's the urban food studio in
Washington DC the capillary Food Bank
provides leadership training education
and food to over 400 partner agencies
such as churches schools synagogues
things like that 16 percent of the DC
population struggles with access to food
access to food is actually a root
determinant for many of the hospital's
super-users the capillary Food Bank
realized that improving access to food
had to be about more than just giving
out meals so they launched a
demonstration garden for nutrition
education and gardening basics due to
its success they did engage volunteers
to expand and enhance the capabilities
of this garden the result is a
multi-purpose garden in urban food
studio it provides all season access to
cooking workshops classes and other
educational events reflecting their
values to be environmentally friendly
the structure itself demonstrates
sustainable ecosystems such as rainwater
collection and solar harvesting the
studio teaches individuals and families
that whether you have a backyard or
balcony you can learn how to grow food
and how to stretch your food budgets
farther the result is a place that
empowers healthy choices while improving
access to food
in both cases Ketchum Bala and EC he
started through the efforts of a single
individual with Ketcham ball it was
somebody in the area that sat with
village elders to understand what was
their most pressing need with the food
bank it was an individual passion about
sustainable design she found out they
need expanded facilities and then
leveraged her network to bring it to
life in both cases they didn't just
donate their time they used Design
Thinking to help make it happen so when
we talk about design thinking what are
we talking about we're talking about an
iterative method for practical creative
problem-solving the type of thinking
that brings together social cultural
environmental variables into solutions
that can help communities thrive but the
real impact to design thinking is in the
ripple effect like a pebble in a pond
design thinking isn't just about the
initial concern but is about the ripples
that is the impact you can have beyond
the initial idea of being considered
with Ketcham Bala the ripple effect of
building new birthing suites was
enhancing skilled labor and improving
sustainability with the food bank the
ripple effect was about improving access
to food where we live impacts how we
live rural urban or anywhere in between
we can and must come together as a
community to improve our health my
passion if you haven't guessed by now is
design in my practice with HKS we do
this by thinking beyond the property
lines of our clients on how buildings
impact neighborhoods how neighborhoods
shaped place and how place influences
behavior personally I first committed to
doing this about 10 years ago through
the creation of a design fellowship
within our firm that paired designers
with architectural students to work on a
community need out of a single event it
has grown to cover over five cities and
twenty needs needs that have ranged from
affordable housing in DC to improving
connectivity and walkability in Dallas
from
it's about shifting our perspective on
what truly impacts our health for using
design in the built environment to
influence healthy behavior fundamentally
for shaping places that encourage kids
and parents to walk or ride their bikes
where we live impacts how we live but
how we live is a choice so what if we
all were to use design thinking to
impact the health of our communities
what impacts would we have what
communities would we create the best
part is you don't need to be an
architect a designer or health
professional to be a catalyst for change
design is a way of thinking and
problem-solving is in each of us a
single person with a passion to care you
can have a ripple effect of their own
with a profound impact each of a shape
our communities by how we choose to
engage with them or how we choose not to
so to do this sort of design thinking
yourself you simply need to observe
engage and collaborate open your eyes to
the challenges around your neighborhood
schools and towns engage with groups
working on those issues in a way that
aligns with your own passion your own
ideals collaborate with those groups so
that change happens within change also
starts with a commitment to care this
was apparent to me personally at the
2013 Boston Marathon as a runner I was
stopped about a quarter mile from the
finish when the bombings happen before
long there were several hundred maybe
thousand runners held in place tired
dehydrated cold wet held in place while
medical care was rightfully focused on
those injured at the finish held in
place while many of the runners were
starting had medical issues of their own
common to running that far for that long
but magnified by the cold temperatures
in wet clothing I didn't see the heroics
of those at the finish but what I did
see
with strangers spectators who came
together sharing their own clothing
their own water their own blankets in
some cases opening their own homes to
strangers individuals hundreds of
individuals who came together despite
the fear despite the chaos regardless of
anyone's politics came together as a
community the day was tragic but like
many I was inspired by our shared
humanity we must shift our perspective
the solution doesn't rest alone in
Capitol Hill where the focus is on the
20% nor is it isolated away in our own
political echo chambers the solutions in
here it's in our shared humanity
together through design thinking we can
impact the health of our communities and
the 80% of our health that we can
control this is where we can do more
than just be less bad where we can
thrive where we can recover but Rossetto
lost and what ketcham Bala gained thank
you
[Applause]
Ver Más Videos Relacionados
How to build your creative confidence | David Kelley
Why Lifestyle is the BEST Medicine | Meagan L. Grega | TEDxLehighRiver
Taking Health Care to the Streets | Dr. Cheryl Whitaker | TEDxNashvilleSalon
Week 5 Check In
How the Environment Affects Your Health: Crash Course Public Health #3
Six keys to leading positive change: Rosabeth Moss Kanter at TEDxBeaconStreet
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)