3 Questions: Alan Berger on cities and health
How do cities affect our health? A newly published research report from MIT’s Center for Advanced Urbanism (CAU) highlights the complexity of the issue. Produced in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects, the document examines an array of public health matters in eight major metropolitan areas in the United States, and suggests a wide array of possible remedies, from better mass transit to extensive tree-planting. The report was principally authored by Alan Berger, a professor of landscape architecture and urban design, along with Andrew Scott, an associate professor of architecture; about a dozen graduate students from MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning and researchers at CAU also worked on the project. Berger sat down with MIT News to talk about the findings. Q. What did you learn from undertaking this project?A. The number one thing I’ve learned is: You cannot prove causality easily, because the issue is so...