Scarlett Rakowska
Research and Professional Interests
Though global life expectancy at birth increased throughout the decades, global deaths caused by noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes and asthma, increased. As two-thirds of Canadians live in urban cities, residents are exposed to traffic congestion, heat, and air pollution, creating concerns for their health. Studies found that green space, cycling infrastructure, and outdoor urban spaces are associated with physiological and psychological benefits to health. Geographic information systems (GIS) can aid in understanding health outcomes within communities. Studies have shown that GIS is a helpful tool in understanding diseases.
My research will 1) develop geospatial techniques to investigate the spatial associations of health diseases with exposure and accessibility to outdoor urban spaces and 2) create interactive public maps displaying the results to benefit residents. To achieve this, I will quantify exposure (e.g. air pollution and traffic) and accessibility (e.g. park space and infrastructure) using GIS and remote sensing to conduct geospatial statistical analyses to understand its relationship with health diseases while controlling for socio-demographic indicators. This work will directly assess noncommunicable diseases through a geospatial lens.
Fields of Study
- Environment & Climate
- GIS, Spatial Analysis & Modelling
- Health
- Physical Geography
- Urban
Areas of Interest
GIS, remote sensing, health geography, greenness, geospatial statistical analysis, health diseases
Publications
- Rakowska, S. B. & Adams, M. D. (2024). Modelling the microscale spatial distribution of urban air temperature in suburban sprawl. Urban Climate, 58, 102136.
- Rakowska, S. B., Lutz, K. L., Réquia, W. J., & Adams, M. D. (2023). Examining the effects of green space accessibility on school performance for 3421 elementary schools. Landscape and Urban Planning, 234, 104731.