Stories from the Field

Community-led, health equity initiatives in action

Master practitioners and community leaders share insights and experiences, telling remarkable stories about community–led equitable and sustainable development accomplished around the world.

Sections Below:
Essential Insights
Master Classes
Deep Dive Ahmedabad

Alternate filters for grouping videos:

Making Money and Paying for Things
Services and Climate Resilient Infrastructure
Social Connection and a Sense of Well-Being
Community and Government Collaboration
Women and Cultural Norms

■ Essential Insights

High-level learnings about driving health equity

11 video(s) found

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1:04

People Are Not the Slum, the System is the Slum

People are not the Slum, the System is the Slum

Discussion questions

What stands out to you about this insight?

Can you think of a time when you made assumptions about a person’s cognitive abilities based on their appearance?

Somsook Boonyabancha, is Chairperson, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR), a regional network of grassroots community organizations, NGO’s and professionals actively involved with urban poor development processes in Asian cities; former Director of the Community Organization Development Institute (CODI); Chairperson, of the Baan Mankong Program Committee.

Boonyabancha has been working and facilitating sustainable, equitable collective housing development and slum upgrading in Thailand and other Asian countries for 30 years – specializing in community-led initiatives. As director of CODI, she fostered a “city-wide” approach to community upgrading that has been replicated in cities across Thailand. She is based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Based in Bangkok, Thailand.

1:21

The 15 Minute City

Discussion questions

Do you agree that it is important for people to be able to walk to all the services they need within 15 minutes, why or why not?

Think of a neighborhood that does not have a robust street life, and another that does. Compare them. Why is one lively and the other not? What are the benefits or downsides of each? What is the difference between those neighborhoods?

Bio

Ryan Smolar, Co-Founder, Long Beach Fresh Food Council; Initiator, US Placemaking

Ryan Smolar works with local communities and government in California to break down barriers to affordable healthy food and foster opportunities for community connection and new business development at the same time. He describes the power of food councils, and explores various initiatives and approaches that have yielded vibrant public spaces and projects that connect people through food.

Ryan is based in Long Beach, California, USA.

1:14

What I Learned from DoorDash

Discussion questions

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

Bio

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

1:42

Three Generations to Rise Out of Poverty

Discussion questions

What vulnerabilities can pull people back into poverty where you live?

What has your city done to help lift people out of poverty or what do you think could be done?

Bio

Bijal Brahmbhatt, Mahila Housing Trust

Bijal Brahmbhatt has spent three decades conceptualizing, planning, managing, and providing support for slum upgrading programs across India, with a focus on empowering women to advocate for themselves with local government in order to claim public goods and services central to their well-being. She works to improve living conditions, foster climate resilience and overall economic security, through socio-technical approaches. She is an expert in land tenure, housing finance, renewable energy issues, community development and is a trained engineer.

0:55

Shorter Life Expectancy is a Symptom of Urban Development Problems

Discussion questions

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

Bio

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

2:23

Private Property versus Public Space

Discussion questions

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

Bio

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

1:24

The Power of Public Spaces and the Doers who Create Them

Summary

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

Discussion questions

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

Bio

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

1:45

Aligning Long-Term Needs for Climate Action with a Better Life Today

Discussion questions

What stands out to you about this story?

Are there people in your city who think that changes for climate adaptation are going to undermine their daily quality of life? What arguments do they make?

How can something as simple as planting trees make a city both more sustainable and more equitable?

Bio

Ramon Marrades, Economist; Director, Placemaking Europe; Founder, Vigla

2:08

You Can’t Just Plan for the Rich

Discussion questions

What does it mean to make development more inclusive?

In this interview, what does the term “social security” mean and why is it important?

Why would it be particularly difficult for poor people to be separated from long time neighbors and community?

Can you think of a project in your city, where poor residents were displaced but given new housing? In what ways was it successful or not?

Bio

2:22

Persistent Cultural Norms

Persistent Cultural Norms – Women Don’t Want Their Daughters to Work

Discussion questions

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

Bio

Educational materials in development. Contact us if you are interested in being a partner (equityproject@ISUH.org).

1:55

Biodigesters Can Save the World

Discussion questions

Can you think of an issue that is causing multiple problems in your city? (For example, lack of public transportation options forces many cars to use a busy road, causes air pollution, makes the neighborhood less walkable, and cuts off that neighborhood from other neighborhoods)

Can you think of an initiative that has solved multiple problems in your city? (For example, expanding a subway line to reach new neighborhood would decrease traffic, increase accessibility to jobs)

Bio

Thomas Henry Culhane, Urban Ecologist
Dr. T.H. Culhane is a professor of Environmental Sustainability and Justice at the Patel College for Global Solutions at University of South Florida, Tampa. He is passionate about transforming food waste into fuel and fertilizer, collecting biogas and bioslurry, to not only cook food, heat water and generate clean electricity, but to grow new nutritious food. Culhane is co-founder and president of Solar CITIES Inc., a not-for-profit environmental technology training organization that teaches members of impoverished urban and rural communities around the world how to build their own home and community scale biodigesters and vertical aeroponics food production systems with the goal of eliminating all waste. Culhane lives with and uses these technologies in his daily life at the Rosebud Continuum Eco-Science and Sustainability Education Center in Land O Lakes Florida where he resides.

■ Master Classes

Prominent equitable development leaders share stories of how they empowered communities and engaged local government to drive equitable solutions to entrenched health equity challenges in cities around the world.

Master Class 1 — Engaging Communities to Drive City-Wide Change

Master Class 2 — The Power of Equitable City Planning and Public Spaces

Master Class 3 — Empowering Women to Lead Communities

Master Class 4 — The Intersection of Healthy Food and Happy People

Master Class 5 — The Ultimate Multi-Problem Solving Technology

■ Deep Dive Ahmedabad

Immerse yourself in the informal settlement of Bhagwatinagar in Ahmedabad for five minutes or an hour. Meet some of the inspiring women and equity advocates transforming their communities through collective action.

Deep Dive Ahmedabad – Mahila Housing Trust

Deep Dive 1 – Community Leader: Dipika Malik

Deep Dive 2 – Community Leader: Bhanu Solanki

Deep Dive 3 – Community Architect: Teena B. Dhabale

Deep Dive 4 – Local Entrepreneur: Hasit Ganatra