December 25, 2017 – Bedford Falls

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Anchor lead: What can a public health approach teach us about Bedford Falls? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Are you a devotee of “It’s a Wonderful Life?” If so you know that the forces of good and evil are at war there in the persons of Mr. Potter and George Bailey. Now David Bishai, a population health and systems expert at Johns Hopkins, has published a study looking at how urban factors affect life expectancy, and Merry Christmas! The forces of good prevail.

Bishai: You could try to do George Bailey’s method of improving the real estate prices in Bedford Falls or you could do the Potter method of the wellbeing of Bedford Falls and by investing in life expectancy, to make the community have more spaces that are good for the health of the residents of Bedford Falls you could improve the real estate prices and get back the money to the mayor and to Potter himself. Potter was wrong to have that vision of people living in hovels and shacks and not having the means for a better life.   :29

Bishai’s study demonstrates the relationship between improving housing and infrastructure, rising property values and life expectancy. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.