Cooked: Survival by Zip Code

There is a clear relationship between race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) and overall health status in Chicago. Minority communities and those of lower SES are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes. This was demonstrated tragically in 1995 during the heatwave that hit the city, when 795 people died, most of them from low-income minority communities.

There are a number of factors that contribute to this disparity. Minority communities are more likely to live in poverty and to have less access to quality healthcare. They are also more likely to experience discrimination, which can lead to chronic stress and poor mental health. Low-SES individuals also tend to have less access to healthy food options and safe places to exercise, which can lead to obesity and other chronic health problems.

These disparities...

Improving the health of Chicagos residents should be a top priority for local officials. By addressing the underlying causes of poor health, we can make our city a healthier place for everyone.

Upstream issues that led to the problems of social and economic inequalities and structural racism in Chicago...

…send their kids to school. This would in turn create opportunities for upward mobility so that people are not trapped in the same poor neighborhoods generation after generation. At the same time, something has to be done about the dwellings themselves, because they are so poorly built. There needs to be a program that is paid for by the public that will allow for retrofitting these buildings so that they are not vulnerable to a deadly heat wave. This would be fair because it was structural racism that led to these buildings being so poorly built in the first place. Solving…