Health, Built Environment Topic of Clarkson Week

BUFFALO N.Y. -- This year, the Clarkson Chair in Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo is Lawrence Frank, Ph.D., internationally regarded author whose research centers on the interaction between land use, travel behavior, air quality and public health.

As Clarkson Chair, he will be in residence in the UB School of Architecture and Planning March 20-24, during which time he will participate in a symposium, an interdisciplinary seminar and a professional planning event, as well as deliver the 2006 Clarkson Lecture in Planning, "The Built Environment as a Health Enabler or Disabler" on March 22 (see program of events below).

Frank is associate professor and Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Urban Transportation Systems in the School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia. He is a registered landscape architect, holds a masters in civil engineering transportation planning and a doctorate in urban design and planning from the University of Washington

He is the principal investigator of SMARTRAQ -- Strategies for Metropolitan Atlanta's Regional Transportation and Air Quality, a research program that tests the relationships between time use, physical activity patterns, travel choice, urban form and air quality. The program is funded by several federal and Georgia state agencies.

Frank also leads the Federal Transit Administration/King County funded LUTAQH project which assesses the relationships between urban form and climate change in the Seattle Region.

He is co-principal investigator on a U.S. National Institutes of Health project, based in the Central Puget Sound and Baltimore, to test the effects of the built environment on physical activity patterns.

Frank lectures to public, academic and planning audiences throughout the United States. He is the author of "Health and Community Design: The Impacts of the Built Environment on Physical Activity" (Island Pres, 2003) and "The Public Health Impacts of Sprawl (Island Press, 2004)."

Clarkson Visiting Chair is a visiting position endowed through the generosity of Will and Nan Clarkson. It is awarded annually to a distinguished scholar or professional in the disciplines of architecture, planning and design.

2006 Clarkson Week Events

Opening Symposium: Envisioning Healthy Communities

Monday, March 20, 10-11:30 a.m. in the School of Architecture and Planning, UB South Campus. Co-sponsored by the UB School of Public Health.

Speakers from the public and private sector will share their vision for a healthy Western New York and reflect on the challenges and opportunities for designing healthy cities and regions. This event is for the UB campus community only.

Professional Planning Event: Planning Healthy Communities

Tuesday, March 21, Noon-2 p.m., Flickinger Seminar Suite, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus, 700 Ellicott St. (between Carleton and Virginia Streets), Buffalo. Brown bag lunches, beverages provided.

The session will focus on how planning and design influences the health of individuals in cities and regions. Speakers will share their insight regarding how planning can promote physical activity and greater access to healthy and affordable food in their communities. Open to the public, free of charge.

2006 Clarkson Lecture: "Built Environment as Health Enabler Or Disabler"

Wednesday, March 22, 5:30 p.m., 301 Crosby Hall, UB South Campus

Presented by Lawrence Frank Ph.D., internationally regarded author whose research centers on the interaction between land use, travel behavior, air quality and public health.

Open to the public, free of charge.

Interdisciplinary Research Seminar: "Built Environment and Health"

March 23, 1-2:30 p.m., 301 Crosby Hall, School of Architecture and Planning, UB South Campus

The seminar will highlight current research on the relationship between the built environment and health. Presenters include Lawrence Frank and researchers from the University at Buffalo. Discussants will include Maurizio Trevisan, dean of the UB School of Public Health and Brian Carter, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning. This event is for the UB campus community only.