The People, Health & Place Lab (PHP Lab), led by Dr. Deborah Salvo, investigates how built, social, and policy environments shape physical activity, health behaviors, and health equity across diverse populations and contexts. The lab focuses on understanding how “place” influences opportunities for healthy and sustainable living, with particular attention to communities that experience structural disadvantage in the U.S. and globally, especially in Latin America. By centering on the contexts where people live, move, and interact most, the lab generates evidence to inform equitable policies, planning, and interventions that reduce spatial health disparities and expand access to environments that support active, healthy lives for all.

The PHP Lab is affiliated with The Center for Research to Community Impact (CRCI), which Dr. Salvo directs.