Published February 20, 2025
For the fifth anniversary of Urban Green Live, we returned to our very first guest: Dr. Joe Allen, Director of Harvard’s Healthy Buildings Program and Associate Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan of Public Health.
In this episode, Dr. Allen reviews what we’ve learned since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged five years ago and discusses the latest trends for designing healthy buildings. Learn about recent improvements in Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) sensor technologies, new research about IAQ’s cognitive impacts on creativity, healthier building materials, and more!
Speakers
Dr. Joe Allen
Associate Professor and Director of the Healthy Buildings Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Joseph G. Allen, DSc, MPH, CIH is associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of Harvard’s Healthy Buildings Program. He is the coauthor of Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Can Make You Sick—or Keep You Well. During the COVID-19 pandemic he served as Commissioner of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission and Chair of its Safe Work, Safe Schools, and Safe Travel Task Force. Dr. Allen is an editor for two journals – Indoor Environments and Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology – and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers.
John Mandyck
CEO, Urban Green Council
John Mandyck joined Urban Green Council in 2018 as its first-ever CEO. He capped a 25-year career as Chief Sustainability Officer for United Technologies Corporation, a Fortune 45 global leader in the building, aerospace and food refrigeration industries. He also serves as a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Business. John is the founding chair of the Corporate Advisory Board for the World Green Building Council, a former board chair of Urban Green, and co-author of the book Food Foolish.
Balancing health and energy during COVID-19 (w/ Dr. Joe Allen)
Dr. Joseph Allen dives into the false choice between health and energy in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Green buildings in the age of coronavirus (w/ Dr. Joe Allen)
Dr. Joseph Allen and Urban Green CEO John Mandyck discuss the intersection of buildings and health during COVID-19.
What’s next for healthy buildings (w/ Dr. Joe Allen)
Dr. Joe Allen is back on Urban Green Live to discuss highlights from his new book!