In her new book, The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness, science journalist and author Emily Anthes reviews the science of how indoor -- and outdoor -- spaces influence our health. Ventilation, bringing nature in through plants and more daylight, and cultivating a healthy microbiome all feature prominently. Steve had a chance to sit down with Anthes over Zoom to hear about the insights she gained while researching the book. Their conversation is now up on Building H’s Medium publication. (Anthes also features in our stories below -- a piece she published in Elemental that summarizes many of her lessons and applies them to our pandemic times.)
Increasingly, we’re understanding better the factors that shape our behaviors and our health. We understand how to design houses and apartments -- as well as schools, offices and even prisons -- to create environments that are more supportive of our health than many of the designs that have become norms. The questions that follow are whether the people and institutions that build these buildings will apply that knowledge going forward, what will propel them to do that, and for whose benefit.
From healthy homes to chronic stress, to emergent engineering, to the power of potato chips, we’ve got a range of stories for you to enjoy.
- Steve & Thomas
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"It's easier to reform the environment
than it is to attempt to reform people."
—Buckminster Fuller
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The Science of Setting Up a Healthier Home (Elemental)
Emily Anthes builds on some of the research from her book on health and indoor spaces to offer some insights into making our homes healthier in the pandemic era, focusing on ventilation and bringing the outside in. Read more.
Chronic Stress Is an Underestimated Pandemic Risk Factor (Elemental)
Marissa Evans explores the links among race, racism, chronic stress and COVID-19. Read more.
How Europe Engineered Its E-Bike Boom (Reasons to Be Cheerful)
E-bikes are taking off in Europe, doubling in Germany, for example, in two years -- and that was before pandemic. Klaus Sig looks at how the policies of countries like Germany, Norway and Sweden contributed to the boom through subsidies and how employers are joining in. An increasing awareness of health and environmental issues among the younger generations has helped, too. Read more.
E-Bikes Are All the Rage. Should They Be? (NYT)
Gretchen Reynolds reports on two new studies about e-bikes -- one from Germany showing that e-bike riders rode their bikes more frequently than conventional bike riders and from from NYU showing that injuries from e-bikes are typically more serious than those from regular bikes, though possibly less so over time. Read more.
One Year Ago, the Business Roundtable Pledged to Reshape the Culture of Business. Has Anything Changed? (FastCompany)
Sadly, not much, writes Kristin Toussaint. Read more.
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In The Midst of The Pandemic, Loneliness Has Leveled Out (Scientific American)
Kasey Killian reports on two new studies that suggest that, despite our worst fears, loneliness has not increased —and may have even decreased a bit — during the pandemic. Read more.
The Nielsen Total Audience Report: Special Work from Home Edition
In addition to their usual stats on media consumption (tl;dr -- total media use up; streaming way up), Nielsen asked people about their work from home experience. A lot of folks like it -- for example, 80% would prefer to work for a company that allows them to do so. Read more.
Meet the Black Design Collective Reimagining How Cities Get Built (Fast Company)
Blackspace, a collection of 200 Black designers, architects, urban planners and more is challenging the traditional methods of community planning processes. They’ve released a manifesto outlining principles for more inclusive processes. Read more.
A Spray-On, Food-Saving Film Could Help Prevent the Next Pandemic Food Crisis (OneZero)
Jack McGovan profiles Startchy, a Lebanese American company that has developed an odorless, colorless, tasteless film that, when sprayed on produce, slows the rotting process. In addition to reducing food waste, the longer shelf life could also encourage more use of fruits and vegetables in home. Read more.
COVID Has Prompted a Surge in Demand for One Specific Type of Home Addition. Should You Try It? (Apartment Therapy)
Brittany Anas writes about the renewed popularity of accessory dwelling units (aka in-law suites) amidst the prospect of prolonged work-at-home (and school-at-home) scenarios. Read more.
15-Minute Cities Are Making a Comeback (Axios)
Kim Hart gives a quick rundown on the concept, the state of play, and the opportunities for creating greater equity across neighborhoods. Read more.
How the Pandemic Has Changed Us Already (The Atlantic)
Writing for The Atlantic, Joe Pinsker raises the question of the long-term behavior and mindset changes that could result from the pandemic. There’s an interesting comparison to those who grew up during the Great Depression and the lifelong impact of that experience. Read more.
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The Race to Make a Better Brand of Home Office (CityLab)
Looking to find middle ground between commuting to an office and working from your bedroom, Common, a real estate company that designs and operates co-living buildings, has launched an RFP for a new model. They’re seeking a city to partner with them in creating a “Remote Work Hub” -- a home-office complex that would involve living units and space for remote workers. Read more.
If Biden Wins, Corporate Purpose Will Face a Higher Bar (FastCompany)
Noting that Joe Biden, when rolling out his economic plan, said that the idea that corporations only exist to serve shareholders is “an absolute farce,” Nick Merrill and Dan Schwerin argue that -- if Biden wins in November -- the expectations to live up to the Business Roundtable's pledge (see above) will be higher. Read more.
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Am I a Potato Chip Addict or a Victim of Food Science? (Heated)
Writing in Mark Bittman’s Heated magazine, Sabrina Medora takes us on a journey from her childhood indulgence of masala chips and her feelings of guilt, to a review of arguments around engineered food addiction. There’s an interesting twist at the end as she raises the possibility that being too health conscious in our diet actually backfires. Read more.
To Eat Healthfully for Life, Eat with Your Principles (Medium)
Delving into the experience of her elders in Japan, Kaki Okumura challenges the specificity of new diets and techniques, such as intermittent fasting, and argues that “[w]e don’t need a diet, we need beliefs.” Read more.
Uncertain Times (Aeon)
We wrap up with a long (20-minute) read from Jessica Flack and Melanie Mitchell, both of the Santa Fe Institute, on the importance of understanding society as a complex system and intentionally influencing that system using principles from complexity science. Noting that “the only certainty is uncertainty,” they raise the idea of emergent engineering, which is based on principles of robustness and adaptation. Read more.
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