Karabi Acharya’s Post

In our everyday lives, we interact with social infrastructure – the networks that connect us to each other and to opportunities. Without this essential infrastructure, we are disconnected from each other and our institutions, as well as from the places where we live. To better understand the keys to quality social infrastructure, Gehl - Making Cities for People led three learning exchanges in Belfast, Brazil, and Cape Town, with support from RWJF. These visits revealed lessons learned for the United States on how to better define, invest in, and sustain social infrastructure in communities. When done right, social infrastructure does more than build relationships–it advances economic opportunities, climate resilience, and even social and racial justice within communities. Read the reflection by project advisors Kimberly Driggins and Bridget Marquis in American Planning Association’s Planning Magazine: https://lnkd.in/eQeYYqPu #SocialInfrastructure #SocialConnection #Loneliness

“You don’t escape trauma by ignoring it. You escape trauma by confronting it.” I recently watched “Origin” and was deeply moved by the powerful storytelling of author Isabel Wilkerson’s journey writing her Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents.” For me, one of the most heart-wrenching scenes told the story of a little Black boy on a winning baseball team who was not allowed to swim in a pool with his White teammates. Eventually, he was put in a float and pulled around the pool with strict instructions not to touch the water. That vignette haunts me still - what did that experience mean to that little boy? How do his teammates understand it? What did that teach the children watching this happen? The other element that struck me was how much Wilkerson’s personal life drove and intersected with her research. Too often, we compartmentalize personal from our professional lives—but what power there is when we bring them together as she did. Overall, to me, the film (and Wilkerson’s book) reiterates how the barriers we face in the U.S. don’t exist in isolation: they are built off of and influenced by others all around the world. I definitely would recommend you add this powerful film to your summer watch list if you haven’t seen it yet.

Everyone should have a supportive community they can rely on. One to celebrate with them in good times and to lean on and guide them through the bad. But the U.S. is facing an epidemic of loneliness, and our neighborhoods lack the social infrastructure that encourages us to build relationships. Both public and private organizations need to work together to create opportunities for everyone to find their people. Co-housing, a collaborative living arrangement that brings neighbors of all ages closer together, is one way people around the world are making this happen. Learning from communities in Denmark, architect Kathryn McCamant and her team brought this idea to the U.S. for the first time. Their story shows us what can happen when we intentionally design neighborhoods to cultivate connection. But for initiatives like this to be truly successful, they need to be equitable and more accessible to the communities that need them most. Learn more about how co-housing can improve health in the latest Retro Report documentary, sponsored by RWJF. https://lnkd.in/eJWTS7Mw #SocialConnection #Loneliness #PublicHealth

Everyone needs access to nutrient-rich, healthy foods that energize them without breaking the bank. In the U.S. highly-processed foods laden with sugar, sodium, and empty calories are much cheaper and more readily available to families, contributing to chronic disease epidemics and high medical bills. Other nations are doing a lot to ensure healthy foods are accessible for all. Take South Africa’s healthy food subsidy program as an example. Discovery Health, the largest private insurer in South Africa, refunds up to 25% on healthy food purchases in over 400 designated supermarkets across the country. Once activated, the benefit is free for members. Results have shown that this program meaningfully changes purchasing patterns, effectively encouraging people to buy produce and whole foods. While this program is only available to those who have Discovery Health insurance, this type of incentive can be replicated across contexts to drive lasting change. How would this type of program impact your food-buying habits in the U.S.? 

Indigenous entrepreneurs—including farmers, potters, jewelers, and graphic designers—contribute greatly to the financial stability and wellbeing of their communities. But many of their businesses lack investors because of their size. To ensure they can access the resources they need to succeed, RWJF grantee New Mexico Community Capital is working to create a participant-owned economy that reflects Indigenous values through shared power and decisionmaking. In an interview for RWJF’s "What’s Next Health: 5 Questions For…" series, Henry Jake Foreman, Program Director of New Mexico Community Capital, describes just how they are strengthening economic opportunities for Indigenous entrepreneurs using Web3 technologies such as blockchain and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Explore how their IndigiDAO program combines Indigenous cultural practices with modern technologies, and what it means for health equity, here: https://lnkd.in/eg-_pyna

Last year was the hottest year on record, and we’re already witnessing another hotter-than-normal summer. Extreme heat caused by climate change is harming everyone’s health, but local community leaders in U.S. cities are taking bold steps to drive climate resilience in their backyards. 🚶🏿♀️Drawing inspiration from cool islands in Paris, Lawrence, Massachusetts, is mitigating heat with walkable spaces and cool roofs, creating safer, cooler streets and fostering spaces for community.   🌿Through a community-led design process—and inspired by urban nature projects in Velenje, Slovenia—Jackson, Mississippi, is transforming three sites in the historic Farish Street district into green spaces to reduce temperatures and improve health and wellbeing for Jacksonians.   ☀ Learning from community-focused youth coalitions in Morocco and New Zealand, partners in Tempe, Arizona, created the Cool Kids, Cool Places, Cool Futures project, centered on youth education, dialogue, and activism in response to extreme heat. Learn more about these cities taking action to address extreme heat: https://lnkd.in/guwb2j2v #ClimateChange #Heat #HealthEquity

I recently noticed that, now, when searching on Google, an AI bot includes what it thinks is the best answer to my question at the top of my search results. This got me thinking: how does this relate to health inquiries on the internet? I for one occasionally search health-related questions online for quick answers, but without personalized information, it’s hard to know what to listen to. As AI becomes increasingly prevalent in our everyday lives, we need to think about what this means for health equity. Will AI make it easier for everyone to have access to the information and care they need? Will it cause more health mis and dis information? A combination of both? To explore these questions, we can look to other nations that are already using AI to reach, understand, and serve patients. For example, askNivi—a chatbot used in India, Nigeria, and Kenya—is helping to provide evidence-based, customized health information to people at different reading levels. And in Kenya, the free digital platform, PROMPTS, delivered by Jacaranda Health via SMS messages, gives new and expecting mothers easy, ongoing access to prenatal and postnatal health information tailored to their pregnancy stage. How can we in the U.S. ensure digital health information benefits all?

I’m heading off on summer vacation this week and am looking forward to “turning off” my work brain and taking some much-needed time to rest and focus on spending time with my family. The health benefits of rest are well established, but hustle culture in the U.S. and around the globe can make it difficult for us to meaningfully take time for ourselves. In an article for RWJF’s "What’s Next Health Medium publication, Jessica Clark, Founder and Director of Dot Connector Studio and previous Futurist in Residence for RWJF, dives into the barriers to resting in America, how activists are tapping rest as a form of resistance, and insights from her futurism work into how we can create a more relaxing future. I’m particularly inspired by the tactics she summarizes from the Nap Ministry. I might even be using a few during my time off! Check out her article to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eHiRZXyf 

This Juneteenth, I’m thinking about all the progress that has been made around the world toward achieving health and racial equity. While we still have a long way to go, I am inspired by efforts that aim to address historical wrongs and work toward a better future. But in the U.S., we must do more. I’m looking to New Zealand, where the Māori people have fought for reparations and won more than $2B from the New Zealand government in settlements, and are already witnessing the mental and physical health benefits of this kind of restorative justice. At RWJF, we’re learning from their efforts to inform the conversation on Black reparations back here in the U.S. As we celebrate the historical legacy of Juneteenth, we need to continue to find new paths for advancing true equity to ensure everyone has a fair and just opportunity to thrive. Global learning can help us on this journey. #RacialEquity #Juneteenth #Reparations