In ‘Unequal Cities,’ authors aim to debunk the idea that genetics, rather than racism, causes health disparities
As Chicago-based health equity researchers, Maureen Benjamins and Fernando De Maio have long been interested in the disparities that affect their city.
Benjamins, a Chicago-born senior research fellow at the Sinai Urban Health Institute, helped carry out the largest face-to-face community health survey in the city’s history. De Maio, a professor of sociology at DePaul University, who grew up in Buenos Aires, has held an interest in the social impacts of inequality since he lived through tumult in his home country of Argentina as a student. But each time Benjamins and De Maio authored papers on inequality in health for various conditions, they realized they had to take a broader view if they were to paint a clear picture of systemic inequity in the U.S.
