Curriculum Vitae

Russell Paul Lopez

Boston University School of Public Health
Department of Environmental Health
Albany Street, Talbott 2E
Boston, MA 02118

(617) 414-1439
Fax (617) 638-4857

rptlopez@bu.edu

EDUCATION

Stanford University. Bachelor of Science Applied Earth Sciences – Land Resources Planning 1979

Harvard University – Kennedy School of Government. Master of City and Regional Planning. Concentration in Housing and Community Development 1981

Boston University School of Public Health. Doctor of Science in Environmental Health. 2003. Dissertation: Racial Segregation, Poverty Differentials and Income Inequality: Impacts on Health and Environmental Exposure Disparities

RESEARCH

Environmental Justice

Does economic restructuring disproportionately affect the environment of people of color? How do environmental inequities result in health disparities?

Urban Sprawl

Sprawl’s impact on physical activity, obesity and how it differentially affects segments of the population. Environmental consequences of sprawl.

Income Inequality

The effects of income inequality and increasing isolation of the poor on health and the environment.

RESEARCH SUPPORT

Racial disparities in exposure to air toxics. Principal investigator, NIH

Geographic Information Systems and community-based health initiatives. Project Assistant, Boston University Office of Information Technology

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2001 – Present. Boston University School of Public Health. EH 807. Urban Environmental Health. Masters level class focusing on health and environmental issues affecting contemporary US cities. Topics include: environmental justice, income inequality, sprawl, demographic change.

2003 – Present. Brown University – Watson Institute Scholars on the Environment. International Environmental Health Colloquium.

GUEST LECTURES

Harvard University. University of Massachusetts – Boston. Northeastern University. Tufts University. Clark University. Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

PUBLICATIONS

Lopez. Segregation and Black/White Differences in Exposure to Air Toxics in 1990. Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements April 2002, Volume 110 (Supplement – 2):289-295.

Lopez and Hynes. Sprawl in the 1990s: Measurement, Distribution and Trends. Urban Affairs Review. January 2003 Volume 38 (3): 325-355

Lopez. Urban Sprawl and Risk of Being Overweight or Obese. American Public Health Association Journal. March 2003

MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED OR IN PREPARARTION

Segregation, Poverty Disparities and Racial Differences in Exposure to Air Toxics

Income Inequality and Self-Rated Health in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: A Multilevel Analysis

The Geography of Inequity: Segregation, Income Inequality and Sprawl

Does Immigration Cause Sprawl?

Sprawl and Per Capita Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled: Implications for Global Warming

People with Disabilities and Sprawl

Sprawl and Self-Rated Health

PRESENTATIONS

Urban Sprawl: Environmental and Health Implications
First International Conference on Inner City Health. Toronto. November 2002

Urban Sprawl and Obesity.
Urban Affairs Association. Cleveland. March 2003

Poor Health by Design
New England Science Symposium. Boston. March 2003

One Pathway to Ill Health: Urban Sprawl and the Risk of Being Physically Inactive
North American Association for the Study of Obesity. Ft. Lauderdale. October 2003

Urban Sprawl and Obesity Risk
American Public Health Association, San Francisco. November 2003

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1980 – 1981 Junior Planner, Hispanic Office of Planning and Evaluation, Boston MA
1981 – 1983 Senior Planner, Hispanic Office of Planning and Evaluation, Boston MA
1983 – 1985 Assistant, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the Lieutenant Governor,
Boston, MA
1985 – 1987 Neighborhood Planner, Neighborhood Development and Employment Agency,
Boston MA
1987 – 1988 Development Assistant, Boston Housing Authority, Boston MA
1988 – 1989 Development Director, Boston Housing Authority, Boston MA
1989 – 1990 Development Manager, Boston Housing Authority, Boston MA
1991 – 1993 Energy Specialist, City of Boston – Office of Neighborhood Services, Boston MA
1993 – 1998 Executive Director, Environmental Diversity Forum, Boston MA
1997 – 1999 Teaching Assistant BU School of Public Health, Boston MA
1998 – Present Consultant, Boston MA

FELLLOWSHIPS, HONORS, AWARDS

National Merit Scholar 1975
EPA – New England. Environmental Merit Award 1997
National Research Service Award – NIH Minority Doctoral Fellowship 2001-2003
Boston University School of Public Health – Excellence in Teaching 2002, 2003

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

American Public Health Association (Assistant Program Planner – Environment Section 2002)
Congress for the New Urbanism
Society for the Study of Social Problems
North American Association for the Study of Obesity
International Society for Urban Health
Urban Affairs Association

COMMUNITY SERVICE (Past and Current)

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay (Member, Board of Directors 1996 – Present)
Alianza Hispana
Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation

Boston Society of Architects – sprawl and density issues