By Gina Lovasi, PhD, MPH, the Dana and David Dornsife Dean and Professor of Epidemiology at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health

Last week, I traveled to Harrisburg for the Public Health 250 Symposium hosted by the Pennsylvania Public Health Association.

One of the most meaningful moments was seeing the inaugural Lisa Davis Award presented to Lisa herself. Lisa has spent more than 25 years championing rural health in Pennsylvania, including more than two decades as Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health. She accepted the award with humor and humility, and generously recognized the many people who helped advance the work along the way. Her example reminded me that public health leadership that matters over decades is often about bringing people together and cannot be separated from the place where the work occurs.

Following the award presentation, I was delighted to connect with fellow dean Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH, of the University of Pittsburgh, who shared thoughts as part of a panel moderated by Dr. Glenna Crooks. Dean Lichtveld reminded us that “where you live determines your health,” and further challenged the audience that we should see this as unacceptable.

As someone whose research touches on the ways that both hazards and amenities across places matter for health, I found myself wondering about this challenge. How could we eliminate geographic differences in health? Would efforts to do so risk homogenization, creating cookie-cutter spaces?

Making place irrelevant to health may not be the right goal. Yet, we should be seeking ways to make sure that no place blocks residents from living a long and healthy life due to persistent inequities or inertia. In imagining a healthy future for Pennsylvania communities in 250 years, futurist Denise Worrell challenged us to expand what we consider possible. How might people in the future shape and move among places that are meaningful to them, balancing health with the many other goals and values that make communities vibrant and distinct?

Dr. Crooks closed the first day of the Symposium by asking: What new award might we create for public health in Pennsylvania 25 years from now, recognizing lifetime achievement and impact across the state? As I reflect, I am hopeful that we will honor a person or group whose work in the coming decades makes place a source of possibility, not a constraint, for health. I see the Dornsife School as catalyzing the learning and collaboration needed to walk this path.

Our aspiration should not be to break the connection between place and health, but to ensure that every place is sufficiently protective of health as a human right. Just as we define health as more than an absence of disease or infirmity, we should define healthy places based on more than the absence of hazards and threats. We should see healthy places not as monolithic, but as having the creativity, differentiation, and community-led approaches that set the stage for meaningful connection and beauty throughout the locations that shape our lives.