Dr. Treasure Shepherd: Build 'healthy cities' by planning housing, parks and transport together

Dr. Treasure Shepherd, a community development and public-health leader who says she works for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, told host Andrea Jennings that a "healthy city" means more than hospitals and clinics. "A culture of health means that, an individual has the choice, for what their health, how their health is dictated," Shepherd said, using the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation framing she described in her research.

Shepherd said the goal is to reduce place-based disparities so residents do not face health outcomes predetermined by where they live. She described how sidewalks, shade, transit access and local green spaces affect mobility and mental health: small physical barriers can accumulate to cut people off from community life and services. "So kind of like death by a paper cuts approach to learning," Shepherd said of the cumulative effect of everyday barriers.

Her academic work and dissertation focused on intersectoral collaboration and community resilience, including research on COVID-19 recovery in a Southern California city. Shepherd advised officials and residents to integrate planning across departments — parks, housing, transportation and public health — rather than treating them as separate policy silos.

Shepherd also pointed to local examples and civic steps people can take: sit on local commissions, bring health and accessibility perspectives to planning and parks bodies, and support projects that reactivate outdoor space. In Pasadena she said there is "desire for innovation" from both staff and residents that can support those efforts.