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Development of a Human Health Index for Ecosystem Disservices Using Visual AnalyticsDr. James Hunter Jr., Lashaunda Johnson, Derek Riley

Department of Civil Engineering, Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of EngineeringMorgan State University, Baltimore, MD

IntroductionIn conjunction with the US Department of Homeland Security, Morgan

State University’s VAST-MSI Program (Visual Analytics for Science andTechnology at a Minority Serving Institution) is a research program designed tosolve issues and create valuable product solutions for the country. The areas offocus are Computer Science, Civil & Environmental Engineering, andEconomics. This program is a combination of interdisciplinary collaboration, andinformation visualization. Information Visualization is a very important aspectwhen addressing the issues we are researching in this project. Preliminary workhas been done through training at Purdue University and the analysis andvisualization of sample data sets from the Baltimore Neighborhood IndicatorsAlliance (BNIA). Ecosystem services/environmental data collected by theresearchers and BNIA will serve as the primary sources of data in this project.

Background

Contact Information

ProblemsHuman health is defined as “a complete state of physical, mental and social well-

being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” When assessinghuman health in an urban/coastal environment, there are many factors thatcontribute to the analysis. In order to monitor human health, it is important toidentify, quantify, and assess ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystemservices are monitored through its environmental indicator. A method must becreated in order to receive real-time data as a current indication of the quality ofeach ecosystem service. The three categories that contribute to human healthare the following: INFRASTRUCTURE: the basic physical and organizational structures and

facilities (e.g., buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.

BUILT ENVIRONMENT: “the human-made space in which people live, work, and recreate on a day-to-day basis”.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: planting trees and restoring wetlands, rather than building a costly new water treatment plant.

Solutions and Expected Outcomes

Our preliminary data collection began by focusing on the surrounding neighborhood where Morgan State University is located. With a population of 16, 643, the Northwood area includes the following neighborhoods: Hillen, Montebello, Morgan State University, New Northwood, Original Northwood, Perring Loch, and Stonewood-Pentwood-Winston. The data collection was a comprehensive gathering of participatory sensor data, and database results. The database collection was from the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicator Alliance. The Baltimore Neighborhood Indicator Alliance (BNIA), founded in 2000, is a study focus group comprised of citywide nonprofit organizations, municipal government agencies, neighborhoods, and foundations. The alliance focuses on answering two questions: “If you knew you would leave your neighborhood and could come back in 10 years, what is the vision you want to see?”“What will tell you we are successful is getting there? What are the indicators and measures that will tell us we are moving in the right direction?”Answering these two questions, the database is composed of different vital signs. Vital Signs are “groups of related data points, compiled from a variety of reliable sources. ”These vital signs are categorized into these major signs: Census Demographics Housing and Community Development Children and Family Health Crime and Safety Workforce and Economic Development Sustainability Education and Youth Arts and CultureAlthough the purpose of BNIA’s data collection is to form a picture of a neighborhood’s quality of life and overall Health, there is no specific index value given. In order to begin the assessment of the services and disservices that would be scored, we collected our NODE data and BNIA’s data in order to create a list of services/disservices:Using Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet was generated in order to input the values calculated from the BNIA data. The values for the neighborhood were then scored based on the values obtained for Baltimore City (in general), and the index score was taken out of 100. All services were positive numbers, while disservices were entered as negative. The total index score was the sum of the positive services and negative disservices. For now, a more general rating was established when evaluating the services score, disservices score, or total index score:

Dr. James Hunter Lashaunda Johnson Derek Riley

james.hunter@morgan.edulajoh27@morgan.edu deril2@morgan.edu

What are ecosystem services/environmental indicators and how can visualanalytics is used in conjunction? Environmental Indicators are measures that serve as agauge for environmental changes. These indicators are divided into three subgroups:state of the environment, sustainability, and environmental performance. Examples thatfall within these subgroups include vegetation, air, and climate. Environmental indicatorshelp to monitor the conditions of our ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are thebenefits humans obtain from natural resources. These services can include mechanismsfor nutrient cycling and primary production in our environment. Ecosystem services havedegraded over time and it is important to identify, quantify and assess theirbenefits/disservices in relation to human health.

Human health in a particular geographic region is also affected by disserviceswithin the built environment. These disservices include food options, the presence ofimpervious surfaces, transportation, and buildings. Using the ecosystem services andbuilt environment data for a particular location, an index will be created where each ofthese factors will have a different weight in determining the expected health of theindividuals living in that particular area.

In order to accomplish this, one can use visual analytics as a tool to analyze anddraw conclusions from the data collected in Baltimore on these two areas of focus. Visualanalytics translates the data into knowledge. It simplifies a relationship between humansand computers where computers support interactive visual representations of data toamplify cognition. This amplification enables the creation of indices that allow us to makeinformed decisions about natural and built environmental impacts.An example of an index was one focusing on assessing water quality. The NSF WaterQuality index is a 100 point scale summarizing results from different measurements: Temperature pH Dissolved Oxygen Turbidity Fecal Coliform Biochemical Oxygen Total Phosphates Nitrates Total Suspended SolidsUsing weights, and index values, quality ratings were developed such that 0-100 (100being considered excellent) scoring scale was used. Although this focuses on oneaspect, our index is to incorporate both field testing, and multiple sources of data analysis.

Our current solution for solving the problem presented is the use of an index. This indexincorporates a collection of services that contribute to a general rating for the humanhealth. These services are classified under infrastructure, green infrastructure, and the builtenvironment. The index will generate a certain value, along a scale which will determine aqualitative description for human health in a specific are.

Services will be evaluated using participatory sensing, as well as data collection/analysis.Participatory sensing uses established applications to collect data. Variable Technologies hasa device called a “NODE”, where different factors such as temperature, climate, and airquality can be collected from a device and saved on an iPhone device. Using these twomethods, data charts can be formed, indicators can be graphed, relationships andcorrelations will be assessed, and conclusions will be drawn.

Based on the information compiled, we can create a network or system to assess ourecosystems in our major urban areas, and create monetary value and importance to them.From there, we can monitor some of these ecosystem services through participatoryresearch and sensors (which can also be used in assessing the value) and create anapplication approach to a set of protocol in certain scenarios. Scenarios most relevant to ourarea of study are severe weather and technological hazards such as major transport,industrial, facility, or hazardous material mishaps. With the use of GIS, plans and alertsystems can be created to make the public more aware and detailed in preparation for anyevacuations during such attacks.

Preliminary Tasks and Data Collection

SERVICES DISSERVICES

• Available healthy food options• Tree cover• Literacy • Use of public transportation• Climactic data (Natural

Phenomena)

• Abandoned/vacant homes • Licensed liquor store vendors • Available fast food options• Dirty street• Clogged storm drains

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Development of a Human Health Index for Ecosystem Disservices Using Visual AnalyticsDr. James Hunter Jr., Lashaunda Johnson, Derek Riley

Department of Civil Engineering, Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of EngineeringMorgan State University, Baltimore, MD

The primary research objectives are to:• Measure the potential vulnerability of an area of interest to natural disasters. • Quantify provisioning and regulating ES in existing stand-alone models;• Identify potential environmental stressors and means to “sense” and relay these

parameters to the DSS • Identify actions and management practices that promote urban infrastructure

and green infrastructure resilience. • Estimate the economic value of selected provisioning and ecosystem services.

The objective of the decision support tool developed through this project is to:• Enable DHS and other stakeholders to easily evaluate management options for

crisis and recovery scenarios by accounting for ecosystem services lost, maintained, or recovered due to action or inaction.

NEIGHBORHOOD NORTHWOODIndicators

Neighborhood Raw Score

Baltimore City Score Index Percentage Index Score

Available Healthy Food Option Index 8.9 10.3 0.86407767 86.40776699Tree Cover (Percentage) 33.8 27 1.251851852 125.1851852Literacy (Library Cards per 1000 residents) 265.8 299.1 0.888665998 88.8665998Use of Public Transportation to work (Percentage) 16.7 18.8 0.888297872 88.82978723 Services TotalClimatic Data (Home Weatherization -Percentage) 0.7 0.6 1.166666667 116.6666667 505.9560059Liquor outlet density (per 1000 residents) -0.1 1.2 -0.083333333 -8.333333333Fast food outlet density (per 1000 residents) -0.4 1.4 -0.285714286 -28.57142857Rate of Dirty Streets and Alleys Reports (per 1000 Residents) -40.3 70.5 -0.571631206 -57.16312057Rate of Clogged Storm Drain Reports (per 1000 Residents) -4.3 6.2 -0.693548387 -69.35483871

Disservices Total

Percentage of Residential Properties that are Vacant and Abandoned -0.4 8 -0.05 -5 -168.4227212

TOTAL 337.5332847

-400

-300

-200

-100

0

100

200

300Available Healthy Food Option Index

Tree Cover (Percentage)

Literacy (Library Cards per 1000 residents)

Use of Public Transportation to work (Percentage)

Climatic Data (Home Weatherization - Percentage)

Liquor outlet density (per 1000 residents)

Fast food outlet density (per 1000 residents)

Rate of Dirty Streets and Alleys Reports (per 1000 Residents)

Rate of Clogged Storm Drain Reports (per 1000 Residents)

Percentage of Residential Properties that are Vacant and Abandoned

Human Health Index - Neighborhood Comparison

NorthwoodBelair-EdisonSW Baltimore