(NB03) Human Health and the Microbiomes of Indoor & Outdoor Spaces

In the early 2010’s, a group of Scandinavian biologists designed an experiment that explored the relationship between biological diversity in the environment, microbial diversity and human health. Working in the Karelia region of Finland, they found that adolescents who lived in houses surrounded by diverse planting had low rates of allergies and asthma. This was the first systematic evidence of the “biodiversity hypothesis” that postulates that high environmental diversity supports human health.

In the 10 years since the Karelia Study, evidence has been growing that robust, diverse microbiomes strengthen our immune systems’ ability to regulate and fight disease. This research reinforces the thesis that modern urban life is “too clean”. Contemporary urbanites in the US spend on average 93% of their time indoors, buffered from outdoor environments, which are also decreasingly diverse. This drop in the number and kinds of microbes we encounter is believed to be the cause of the spike in chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma, allergies and many others since the 1950’s. These problems are particularly acute in neighborhoods with underserved populations, where public open spaces tend to be poor in species diversity. Planning and public health researchers have suggested that this trend can be reversed by rewilding urban microbiomes at a neighborhood and city level.

In this talk, Rob Dunn, ecologist, microbiologist and author of Never Home Alone, will talk about his lab’s ongoing exploration and mapping of microbiomes in building materials and residential spaces. Rob will talk about the factors that influence our most intimate habitats – our homes. Joe Chambers, landscape architect and urban designer with MKSK, will talk about the possible impact of the microbiome paradigm on architectural and urban space and the concept of Healthy Urban Microbiomes. Together they will review the latest research from Finland.