Lead poisoning and asthma affect the quality of life of thousands of residents of Providence. City officials have been working closely with Brown University and the Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) since early in 1998 to develop more efficient ways of dealing with both health problems. A recent $4 million grant the City recently received from the Office of Urban Housing and Development (HUD) is likely to bring these endeavors to fruition in upcoming months.

Now, one of the major challenges the City faces is determining where and how the resources will be distributed. My research identifies houses in Providence that deserve resources for remediation. I have identified houses that have been linked to more than one poisoned child, and also houses that have been linked to a poisoned child and an asthmatic. I completed these analyses by identifying addresses at which lead-poisoned children have lived in Providence, from Rhode Island Department of Health data, and addresses at which asthmatics have lived in Providence, from Rhode Island Hospital admissions data.

My study looks at one other challenge housing officials face: creating programs that prevent, rather than only identify, environmental health problems. I describe a series of housing conditions that may be used as indicators for lead poisoning. This means the City can create programs that work to prevent, rather than simply detect, lead poisoning.