Research: Welcome

Publications

Castillo, M.D.*, Anenberg, S.C., Chafe, Z.A., Huxley, R., Johnson, L.S., Kheirbek, I., Malik, M., Marshal, J.D., Naidoo, S., Nelson, M.L., Pendleton, N.V., Sun, Y., van den Broek d’Obrenan, H., Kinney, P.L. (2021)

Quantifying the health benefits of urban climate mitigation actions: Current state of the epidemiological evidence and application in health impact assessments.
Front. Sustain. Cities 3:768227 https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2021.768227

Castillo, M.D., Kinney, P. L., Southerland, V., Arno, C.A., Crawford, K., van Donkelaar, A., Hammer, M.S., Martin R. A., Anenberg, S. C.* (2021)

Estimating intra-urban inequities in PM2.5-attributable health impacts: A case study for Washington, DC. GeoHealth, 5, e2021GH000431. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000431

Castillo, M.D., Wagner, J., Casuccio, G.S., West, R.R., Freedman, F.R., Eisl, H.M., Wang, Z.-M., Yip, J.P., Kinney, P.L.* (2019)

Field testing a low-cost passive aerosol sampler for long-term measurement of ambient PM2.5 concentrations and particle composition

Quibdó, Una Ciudad en Armonía con la Selva (2022)

Quibdó como una BiodiverCiudad is part of the course 4.S23 Biodiversity and Cities: A perspective in Colombian cities, Spring 2022, at MIT. The class worked closely with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, specifically supporting the BiodiverCities Program goals for the city of Quibdó.

Advancing the Land Rights of Afro-Colombian Communities: A Qualitative Evaluation of Efforts to Implement Colombia’s Law 70 of 1993 (2021)

Colombia’s Law 70 created a legal pathway for Afro-Colombian communities to receive collective title to historically occupied territories in rural areas. This ESI white paper presents the results of interviews with individuals engaged in Law 70’s formulation, operationalization, or implementation. It was sponsored by the MIT MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars Program and ESI’s Natural Climate Solutions Program.

Other Work

Multi-modal Urban District Hub in Strategic Locations in the Inner Loop, Phoenix AZ

Design Brief
Course: 11.S942, Urban Design Studio, “Cooler” Living in America’s Hottest City, Spring 2023

Shading the Sun Valley, Phoenix AZ

Design Proposal
Course: 11.S942, Urban Design Studio, “Cooler” Living in America’s Hottest City, Spring 2023

Three points for Logan Triangle, Philadelphia. Planning for a More Equitable, Healthy, and Vibrant Community

Proposal submission for the APA's 2023 Planning conference.

BR-163 Storymap

A Story Map about the BR-163 highway in the Brazilian Amazon
Course: HIS4495 Highways, Deforestation, and State-Driven Colonization in Amazonia, Fall 2022

Perceived vs. Measured Distances and Travel Times Between Origin and Destination Pairs

Developing a module for the Boston Public Schools in collaboration with the Boston Public Library
Course: 11.S945 Teaching Geo-Spatial Data Literacy, Fall 2022

Photographic Essay: Harvard Bridge, Cambridge MA

Light, Detail, Poetics and a Photographic Essay
Course: 11.309 Photography as Inquiry, Fall 2022

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Big idea

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Transpo site map

Big idea

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Detecting Critical Walking Routes to Subway and Bus Stops in Cambridge, MA.

Estimating critical routes that are most likely to be used for walking to bus and subway stations, which could be prioritized for urban design upgrades and forms of public space investment.

Course: 11.024 / 11.324 Modeling Pedestrian Activity in Cities, Spring 2022

Decoding Intentions to Migrate

Interactive storyboard with visualization analyzing migration data from Central America.

Course: 11.154 / 11.454 Big Data, Visualization, and Society, Fall 2021

Mix-Use Development Proposal in Cambridge, MA

Site analysis and design, storyboard presentation with a site plan, detailed plan, perspectives and physical model.

Course: 11.328J / 4.240J Urban Design Skills: Observing, Interpreting, and Representing the City, Fall 2021

Research Interests

Figure 2: Overview of pathways by which climate mitigation actions in cities can lead to health benefits. The portions outlined in red are the subject of the current paper (Castillo et al., 2021)

Co-benefits of Policy Interventions

Climate change mitigation policies have multiple benefits that improve people's lives directly (e.g. decreasing the burden of disease), and indirectly (e.g. creating economic opportunities and improving social cohesion). For example, cities can reap great benefits of improving infrastructure for active mobility - for pedestrians and cyclists. From helping small businesses, to connecting parts of the city and increasing social cohesion, safe environments for active mobility have the potential to improve people's health and well-being and have a direct positive impact on the economy.

All-cause PM2.5-attributable mortality rates and % Black population across Washington DC

Health Equity and Environmental Justice

Air pollution affects population groups across and within cities differently. While air pollution concentrations and its associated health burdens have been decreasing in some cities, these health gains are unevenly and inequitably distributed. Combining environmental health data (e.g. pollution levels and causes of disease) with economic and socio-demographic data allows us to better identify vulnerable populations. This, in turn, helps us find solutions that decrease environmental exposure to pollutants and reduce health disparities at the local level.

Low-Cost Sensors and Community Monitoring

Low-cost sensors (LCS) are an emerging tool that enables the general public to engage in community monitoring campaigns and citizen science. While not intended for regulatory purposes, LCS can help us bridge gaps in monitoring networks and identify hot-spots and populations that are most exposed to certain pollutants. LCS also have the potential to serve in educational and informational campaigns.