Babies Born Just Miles Apart in Cities Across the U.S. The maps, created by researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Center on Society and Health with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), are the latest in a series developed to raise public awareness of the many factors that shape health particularly social and economic factors.

The maps, which show life expectancy at birth, are intended to be a “conversation starter” to support the work of local officials and community organizations looking to address the many factors that shape health across a lifetime. The maps released today portray:

In Atlanta, life expectancy can differ by as much as 12 years between Buckhead and Northwestern.
In Chicago, life expectancy can differ by as much as 16 years between the seven “L” stops that separate The Loop from Washington Park.
In New York City, life expectancy can differ by nearly 10 years in the 6 subway stops that separate East Harlem from Murray Hill.
And in Richmond, life expectancy differs by 20 years in the 5.5 miles it takes to drive between Westover Hills and Gilpin and by 14 years in the 2.8 miles that separate Westover Hills and Swansboro.

Health differences between neighborhoods are rarely due to a single cause. “Our goal is to help local officials, residents, and others understand that there’s more to health than merely health care and that improving health requires having a broad range of players at the table.”

In releasing the maps, VCU and RWJF pointed to local efforts to address the many factors that affect health including the Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement , the Healthy Chicago 2.0 initiative, the New York State Health Foundation’s Healthy Neighborhoods Fund initiative, and a new partnership involving the VCU Health System Virginia Coordinated Care program for the uninsured, the VCU Office of Health Innovation, the Richmond City Health District and the Institute for Public Health Innovation.

“To build a Culture of Health we must build a society where everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, has the opportunity to lead a fulfilling, productive and healthy life,” said RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD.