Michelle Kondo, PhD

CPHI Associate Fellow

Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Social Policy & Practice
Email: mkondo@sp2.upenn.edu

Public Health Interests:

Environmental justice, Air pollution and respiratory health, Community planning and engagement, Youth and youth violence, Water supply, stormwater and green infrastructure, Community based participatory research

Current Public-Health Related Activities:

Michelle combines application of GIS and qualitative methodologies to understand and support participatory planning efforts to address problems relating to environmental and public health.  Her research emphasizes social justice especially amongst immigrant communities and communities of color.

She is currently pursuing three research projects.  She is working on the Green Ports Initiative, which involves the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, the City of Philadelphia Water Department, residents, and the Philadelphia Clean Air Council, to develop a collaborative assessment of air quality effects of port-related truck-traffic through port neighborhoods.

Michelle is also working with the South East Asian Mutual Assistant Association Coalition in South Philadelphia to evaluate a cross-racial youth program as a strategy to address heightened racial tensions and youth violence at South Philadelphia High School.

In addition, she is working with the City of Philadelphia Water Department to develop a collaborative research effort on to develop strategies and methods to realize the City’s emerging Clean City Green Waters plan, which seeks to build green infrastructure throughout the City to address environmental and regulatory concerns as well as to increase jobs and improve quality of life in the City’s neighborhoods. 

Select Publications:

“Immigrant Organizations in Pursuit of Inclusive Planning: Lessons from a Municipal Annexation Case”, Journal of Planning Education and Research (forthcoming).

“The Influences of Gender and Race on Immigrant Political Participation: the Case of the Trusted Advocates”, International Migration (forthcoming).

“Peter Hall and Mark Tewdwr-Jones, Urban and Regional Planning, 5rd edition”, Journal of Planning Education and Research (forthcoming).