Healthy Communities in Southern Illinois

Due to industrial and lifestyle changes, rural and small town areas are losing population and suffering economic hardship. These areas also suffer from the poorest health. However, most rural or small town residents also believe in the American Dream, revitalizing their local area, and preserving the small town or rural way of life. In this paper, I look at the relationship between obesity and local infrastructure – including walkability and access to healthy food – in southern Illinois. I then make suggestions for development policies for the region in the context of local public opinion

Disaster and Gender in Southern Illinois

The unique needs of women in the context of disaster have been largely overlooked in disaster management. For this reason, women have been hard-hit by natural disasters in the United States and internationally. However, by learning from the mistakes of the past, the negative effects of disasters on women may be mitigated through disaster management that is sensitive to the different needs and experiences of women and men. Illinois is at risk for a variety of natural disasters including floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and storms. Some areas of the state, including southern Illinois, are more vulnerable due to social characteristics such as high poverty rates, high rates of single parent households, large elderly populations, and above average rates of domestic violence and sexual assault. Men’s and women’s experiences of these social vulnerabilities within the context of disaster are different. Research on past disasters has documented the ways that gender-based social roles and social gender equality determine how hard and in what ways women are hit by disasters. More often than not women continue to shoulder the bulk of caretaking responsibilities. Further, women have different needs in regard to health, and safety from violence. The negative effects of disaster on women and the communities that they reside within can be reduced by preparedness plans that consider the needs of women. Before a disaster hits an area, local leaders should be aware of towns or counties with high rates of gender-based violence, single parent households, and poverty as those women are especially at risk in a disaster. Leaders should also be aware of areas that have a greater than average population of children, the elderly, or disabled persons. Evacuation plans should be tailored with these characteristics in mind

Geographies of Inequality: Urban Renewal and the Race, Gender, and Class of Post-Katrina New Orleans

In this paper, we address pressing questions on the perpetuation of race, gender, and class inequalities in ongoing restoration practices shaping the New New Orleans. We unpack federal and local efforts to rebuild and revitalize the city over the last ten years and map the geography of New Orleans at the neighborhood level both before and after the storm. We discuss how mismanaged resources, corrupt profit-taking, conflicts of interest for the stakeholders, and socially unconscious design conditioned a fiscally irresponsible and non-inclusive recovery. These efforts have pushed out already marginalized populations, resulted in the gentrification of historically African American neighborhoods, and ultimately maintained complex social inequalities

The Climate of Opinion in Illinois 2008- 2016: Roots of Gridlock

Since January 1, 2015, Illinois has been frozen in a governmental and political gridlock that has dominated the state’s political discourse, consumed the energies of all involved, and created chaos in governmental and non-profit agencies that normally deliver state services. It has also created untold hardship and suffering among those who are most dependent on state services. The conflict has especially threatened to drastically reduce the quality and missions of the institutions of public higher education in Illinois, a state system that was widely recognized as one of the best in the nation and the world