Zhu Rui, Newman Galen, Li Dongying
Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137, United States of America.
Cities. 2024 Feb;145. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2023.104718. Epub 2023 Dec 5.
The rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has led to increased attention on understanding how built environments affect NCD risks. However, there's a significant gap in the literature regarding the relationship between housing vacancy duration and NCDs in metropolitan areas with varying development rates. Our research addresses this gap by examining the association between housing vacancy duration and NCDs across all U.S. metropolitan areas, considering growing, shrinking, and fluctuating counties. We used a Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) model to analyze this relationship, finding that longer-term vacant housing (over 3 years) is more positively associated with NCDs compared to short-term vacancies. We also discovered that this association is non-uniform across metropolitan counties, except for cancer and stroke outcomes. Shrinking counties in the Northeast are particularly affected, emphasizing the need for targeted public health interventions in these areas. This study underscores the importance of revitalizing vacant homes, especially those vacant for over 3 years, in both shrinking and growing regions to improve public health. Policymakers should adopt tailored strategies, engage public health experts, and invest in healthcare infrastructure to effectively address the health risks linked to vacant housing.
非传染性疾病（NCDs）患病率的上升，使得人们越来越关注建成环境如何影响非传染性疾病风险。然而，在不同发展速度的大都市地区，关于住房空置持续时间与非传染性疾病之间的关系，文献中存在显著空白。我们的研究通过考察美国所有大都市地区住房空置持续时间与非传染性疾病之间的关联来填补这一空白，涵盖增长型、萎缩型和波动型县。我们使用多尺度地理加权回归（MGWR）模型分析这种关系，发现与短期空置相比，长期空置住房（超过3年）与非传染性疾病的正相关性更强。我们还发现，除癌症和中风结果外，这种关联在大都市县中并不一致。东北部的萎缩型县受影响尤为严重，这凸显了在这些地区进行有针对性的公共卫生干预的必要性。这项研究强调了在萎缩型和增长型地区振兴空置房屋的重要性，尤其是那些空置超过3年的房屋，以改善公众健康。政策制定者应采取量身定制的策略，聘请公共卫生专家，并投资于医疗基础设施，以有效应对与空置住房相关的健康风险。
