This post cross-posted from Streets.MN
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, possibly best known for all the NPR sponsorship they perpetrate, also do a lot of research. They have recently published maps that show how socioeconomic factors that can be correlated to the neighborhood that you are “from” can influence your life expectancy.
Their conclusion: Where we live, work and play have greater impact on our health than we may realize. In the above map, as we travel west on I94 from downtown St. Paul, the approximate Frogtown shows a 70-75 year life expectancy. Moving towards Midway, the expectancy rises, until near the river and Mac Groveland/Merriam Park and across the river show an 83+ year life expectancy. As I94 heads north in Minneapolis, the life expectancy again drops, until the suburban border is reached.
Factors listed for the variance include behavioral factors, environmental factors, crime rates, schools, access to health care, and more. Unsurprisingly, in MSP and other metros, these distributions also correlate to property values. As ever, correlation is not causation, but the patterns suggested by this data are sobering, to say the least.
