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Research Briefs and Publications
- “Operationalizing the Capabilities Approach to Understand Neighborhood Well-Being in a Participatory Action Research Study” by Andrew Binet, Noémie Sportiche, Vedette R. Gavin, and Mariana C. Arcaya on behalf of the Healthy Neighborhoods Research Consortium. An Academic article describing how HNS Resident Researchers and consortium partners developed the idea of “prioritization” (people’s ability to meet their most important life priorities), created survey and interview tool to measure it, and report findings that higher prioritization ( is associated with better health and is useful for evaluating progress toward the development of “just and equitable” communities.
- Ownership of change: Participatory development of a novel latent construct for neighborhoods and health equity research by Andrew Binet, Yael Nidam, Rebecca Houston-Read, César Garcia Lopez, Gabriela Zayas del Rio, Dina Abreu, Carl Baty, Arnetta Baty, Josee Genty, Goldean Graham, JeffJoseph, Will Justice, Gail Roderigues, David Underhill, Vedette Gavin, and Mariana C. Arcaya. An academic article describing how HNS Resident Researchers developed the idea of “ownership of change”, created survey and interview tools to measure it, and report findings that ownership of change is associated with health, shaped by structural racism, and a key factor for achieving health equity in cities.
- Rising home values and Covid-19 case rates in Massachusetts by Mariana Arcaya, Yael Nidam, Andrew Binet, Reann Gibson, Vedette Gavin (2021).
An academic article showing that rapidly rising home values in gentrifying communities predict community Covid-19 case rates across Massachusetts. - “It feels like money’s just flying out the window”: Financial security, stress and health in gentrifying neighborhoods by Andrew Binet, Gabriela Zayas del Rio, Vedette Gavin, Mariana Arcaya on behalf of the HNS Consortium (2021). An academic article describing financial insecurity as a pathway through which the experience of living in a gentrifying neighborhood shapes health.
- The Moving Mapper: Participatory Action Research with Big Data by Madeleine I. G. Daepp*, Andrew Binet, Mariana C. Arcaya, and Vedette Gavin on behalf of the HNS Consortium (2021). An academic article describing financial insecurity as a pathway through which the experience of living in a gentrifying neighborhood shapes health.
- COVID-19 and Healthy Neighborhoods by Mariana Arcaya and Vedette Gavin with contributions from Arnetta Baty, Carl Baty, Andrew Binet, Amy Laura Cahn, Reann Gibson, Isaac Hodes, Gail Rodrigues, Staci Ruben, and Andrew Seeder (2020). An open letter providing data and recommendations from HNS data and partners to guide decision-makers and communities as they work together to respond to the threat and impact of COVID-19 in ways that equitably and effectively meet the needs of vulnerable populations and places. Full Article Link. Executive Summary Link.
- Designing and Facilitating Collaborative Research Design and Data Analysis Workshops: Lessons Learned in the Healthy Neighborhoods Study by Andrew Binet, Vedette Gavin, Leigh Carroll, and Mariana Arcaya on behalf of the Healthy Neighborhoods Research Consortium (2019). An academic article on the design and facilitation of collaborative analysis sessions in which residents review and make meaning of HNS data.
- Community change and resident needs: Designing a Participatory Action Research Study in Metropolitan Boston by Mariana Arcaya, Alina Schnake-Mahlb, Andrew Binet, Vedette Gavin, and Shannon Simpson on behalf of the HNS Consortium (2017). An academic article showing connections between income insecurity, food insecurity, social support, experiencing discrimination, expecting to move, connectedness to the neighborhood, and ownership over local changes and residents’ physical and mental wellbeing.
- HNS Baseline Report by HNS Staff (2016). A data brief on the state of development, gentrification and health in HNS communities.
Articles, Blogs, and Podcasts
- Leading Change Through the Valued Voices of Community Collaborators (Podcast) – Partners for Advancing Health Equity (2024). HNS is featured in a two-part episode about about neighborhood improvement, community resilience, and the importance of community collaborators as valued voices to inform and lead change within their neighborhoods. Episode 1, Episode 2.
- A Podcast on Gentrification Creates and Strengthens a Community – CLF (2024). Community college students in Brockton share research and personal stories in a podcast about their home.
- The Beloved “Bomb Shelter” Brings a Threatened Community Together – CLF (2024). In Mattapan, HNS partners reclaim a Cape Verdean historical cultural hub to build community.
- A Zine Brings Community Data to Vibrant Life – CLF (2024). In Chelsea, Resident Researchers created a zine with stories about transit.
- Voices of the PAN Podcast – HNS (2023). Mattapan Resident Researcher and host Robyn Gibson as she chats with local leaders to connect what’s we’re learning in our research to their work in communities.
- Chelsea Chronicles: Navigating Life and Transit – Greenroots (2023). Chelsea Resident Researchers created a Transit-Justice Zine to bring to life the vital connections between transportation and wellbeing.
- Mass Union to the Boston Globe: Tenants who live public housing problems 24/7 urge state to act – Boston Globe (2023). Dave Underhill (Mass Union Vice Chair and HNS Resident Researcher from Fall River, MA) published a powerful Letter to the Editor advocating for quality, safe, affordable housing.
- Researchers Build Community Power to Influence Health in Gentrifying Neighborhoods – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2023). In this blog, Reann Gibson discusses how individual and community “Ownership of Change” impacts health and how building ownership of change advances racial and health equity.
- How Community Development Can Promote Equity – Urban Institute Critical Value Podcast (2022). In this podcast Vedette Gavin, Robyn Gibson (HNS Site Coordinator and Resident Researcher), and Maggie Super Church (CLF’s Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund) discuss what equitable community engagement and development looks like in practice.
- Housing Series: The Hidden Costs Of The Housing Crisis – The Daily Item (2022). In this article, Celinet Sanchez (HNS Resident Researcher) discusses the impacts of rising housing costs and financial insecurity on Lynn residents.
- What’s Different When the Community Collects the Data? – Shelterforce (2021). When residents were recruited to conduct an annual study that examines community change and health in nine Massachusetts communities, they didn’t just collect data—they changed how and what was collected.
- Resident Researchers Find Data-Driven Solutions, Unexpected Friendships, and Opportunities To Heal From Within – CLF (2021). In this blog, Carl Baty (HNS Resident Researchers) shares how the Healthy Neighborhoods Study is turning research into action and disagreements into long-lasting friendships.
- How Will the COVID-19 Crisis Shape the Future of Community Health? – Q&A with Reann Gibson, Senior Research Fellow, Conservation Law Foundation.
- Research from the Ground Up – CLF (2020). In this blog Joann Diaz and Cliffton Bennet, HNS Resident Researchers from Roxbury, share their experiences leading the Healthy Neighborhoods Study. In this blog Joann Diaz and Cliffton Bennet, HNS Resident Researchers from Roxbury, share their experiences leading the Healthy Neighborhoods Study.
- Why COVID-19 Is Hitting Some Communities Harder – CLF (2020). This blog explored how historic inequities are making it harder for low-income and communities of color to shield themselves from coronavirus.
- Organizing for Healthy Housing by Andrew Seeder (2020). In this blog, Celinet Sanchez and Goldean Graham (HNS Resident Researchers) share their personal experienced that motivate them to fight displacement and organize for housing justice in their community of Lynn, Massachusetts.
- Researchers Bring the Power of Data Home – CLF (2019). In this blog, learn how HNS researchers from Chelsea, Everett, and New Bedford are finding creative ways to share findings and empower residents.
- What Does It Mean to Use Research for Action? by Reann Gibson (2019). In this blog learn how community members helped create and conduct the HNS and share the data in their communities to help create positive change.
- Building Stronger Communities from The Ground Up by Leilani Mroczkowski (2019). In this blog Lelani shares how solving community challenges through PAR starts with listening to those who know their neighborhoods best.
- Using Community-Led Research to Address Environmental Injustice – CLF (2019). In this blog learn how HNS brings together CLF, residents, and community organizations to address the health impacts of rapidly changing neighborhoods.
- Measuring Community Health. A New Research Model Puts the Community in the Driver’s Seat p.12 CLF (2017). In this issue of CLF’s Conservation Matters magazine, learn how CLF is partnering with residents and advocates to create healthier communities through HNS.
- HNS Interview Series by MIT Community Innovators Lab (CoLab). Andrew, our post-doc from MIT, talks about how to design a research study both with and for residents. Ronel, a Resident Researcher and housing justice organizer from Brockton, believes his community is strengthened when locals are the ones conducting community research. Adela, a Resident Researcher, organizer, and college student from Chelsea, shares her unique perspective as a researcher. Read all of our interviews with residents and partners here.
Press Releases
December
Community Ownership for Greater Physical and Mental Health
October
New Study Reveals Community Ownership Over Urban Development Linked To Greater Physical And Mental Health
Centering Care In Urban Planning
September
Exploring The Relationship Between The City And Caregiving Practices
July
Unitedhealth Group Commits $25 Million To New England Healthy Neighborhoods Fund
Call For Participatory Action Research Emerging Scholars
September
Experts Believe That Decades Of Inequality Have Led To The Severity Of Heat Islands
August
“Invisible Train” Of Gentrification And Displacement Forcing People Further From Their Neighborhoods
“What Happens When The Community Collects The Data” Describes Findings From Hnef’s Annual Healthy Neighborhoods Study
July
Healthy Neighborhoods Fund Gets Major Boost
May
All Communities Deserve A “Cool And Green” Covid Recovery
April
Resident Researchers Find Data-Driven Solutions, Unexpected Friendships, And Opportunities To Heal From Within
January
Building Stronger Communities From The Ground Up
November
How To Move Beyond Environmental Justice As A Trend
September
Transit-Oriented Development And Health: Update To The 2013 Health Impact Assessment To Inform Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund
July
Communities Of Color Hit Hardest By Heat Waves
A Participatory Action Research Field Guide From The Healthy Neighborhoods Study
June
Why Covid-19 Is Hitting Some Communities Harder
May
Building Stronger Communities And A Healthier Climate In The Wake Of Covid-19
March
Covid-19 And Healthy Neighborhoods Study Communities
Hnef I Closes Financing For New Energy-Driven, Mixed-Use Residential Development In Brighton
February
Research From The Ground Up
January
Organizing For Healthy Housing
December
Researchers Bring The Power Of Data Home
What Does It Mean To Use Research For Action?
November
Hnef I Provides $1.2 Million For New Transit-Oriented Rental Housing Development In Codman Square
October
“The Granville” – Hnef’s Project Investment In Haverhill, A Hidden Gem Of A City, Celebrates Near Completion With Ribbon-Cutting
August
Completion Of Hnef-Financed Project – Bartlett Station – Is Celebrated With Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Health, Wealth, And Cities
June
Community Investing For Health, Not Just For Profit
Transformative Development In Boston’s Ashmont Neighborhood – Treadmark – Celebrates Official Opening With Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Developers Of Two Hnef-Financed Projects Get “Excellence” Awards At Mhic Annual Meeting
May
National Research Study Affirms Connections Between Health And Housing
Umass Memorial Health Care Is Investing In The Community To Improve Public Health
How Can Healthcare Systems Build An “Anchor Mission,” An All-Out Approach To Improve The Health Of Communities Through Local Hiring, Local Purchasing And Place-Based Investment
March
Community Change And Resident Needs: Designing A Participatory Action Research Study In Metropolitan Boston
January
Designing And Facilitating Collaborative Research Design And Data Analysis Workshops: Lessons Learned In The Healthy Neighborhoods Study
Using Community-Led Research To Address Environmental Injustice
Hnef Cited In U.S. News Interview As Example Of A Unique New Way To Finance Building Healthier Communities
November
Transforming Communities Through Major Transit Investments
October
Hnef-Financed Transit-Oriented Development In Downtown Haverhill “Breaks Ground”
Hnef Is Subject Of Panel At Uli’s Building Healthy Places Interest Forum In Boston
August
Improving Health And Environment Through Place-Based Investing
Hnef Celebrate Completion Of Braintree Development – A Major, Mixed-Use Tod Project: “The Type Of Solution Our Region Needs…”
July
Holmes Beverly Development Nears Completion
June
what Is The State Of Research On Housing’s Impact On Health?
In the News
- A real estate transfer fee can help meet Lynn’s housing needs – Op-ed by Mary Sweeney. The Daily Item, July 2022
- Biden’s Bill Would Be a Cornerstone in US Climate Policy – Op-ed by Mariana Arcaya. Boston Globe, Feb 2022
- All Communities Deserve a “Cool and Green” COVID Recovery – Article by Reann Gibson. Our Daily Planet, May 2021
- Communities of Color Hit Hardest by Heat Waves – Article by Reann Gibson. Boston Globe, Jul 2020
- Massachusetts Communities With Dirty Air Are Coronavirus Hotspots – Article mentioning HNS. Boston Globe, Apr 2020
- 4 Reasons Coronavirus Is Hitting Black Communities So Hard – Article mentioning HNS. Washington Post. Apr 2020
- How We Drive Development Without Displacement – Op-ed by Maria Belen Power, GreenRoots. Everett Independent. Nov 2019
- Designing and Facilitating Collaborative Research Design and Data Analysis Workshops: Lessons Learned in the Healthy Neighborhoods Study – Article by Andrew Binet, Vedette Gavin, Leigh Carroll, Mariana Arcaya, NIH PubMed. Jan 2019
- CLF Healthy Neighborhood Work Gets Massive Boost – Press release by CLF. Dec 2017