Katharine Robb

Katharine (Kate) Robb received her doctorate from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She holds an Master of Public Health in global environmental health from Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from the University of Michigan.

Kate’s research centers on urban environmental health challenges, including safe housing and access to greenspace, with an emphasis on the leadership skills and organizational structures needed within local governments to turn research into real-world impacts. Her published work has explored health inequalities, neighborhood dynamics, urban sanitation, and housing code enforcement. In particular, Kate’s work examines how data can be leveraged to develop more effective and equitable responses from city governments, highlighting the importance of collaboration and innovation in tackling complex urban challenges.

Kate’s work has been published in Administration & Society, the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Health Affairs Forefront, The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Environment and Urbanization, Global Policy, and SSM-Population Health.

Selected Publications

Robb, K., Marcoux, A., Dickens, E., & de Jong, J. (2024). Tackling Persistent, Boundary-Spanning Problems Through Collaborative Innovation: Lessons From the Clean Sweep Initiative in Buffalo, NY. Administration & Society, 56(5), 628–652. 

Robb, K., Ahmed, R., Wong, J., Ladd, E., & de Jong, J. (2024). Substandard housing and the risk of COVID-19 infection and disease severity: A retrospective cohort study. SSM – Population Health, 25, 101629.

Robb, K. A., LaPointe, M., Hemsing, K., Anderson, G., Anderson, J., & de Jong, J. (2023). Inter-city collaboration: Why and how cities work, learn and advocate together. Global Policy, 14(5), 663–675. 

Robb, K., Diaz Amigo, N., Marcoux, A., McAteer, M., & de Jong, J. (2021). Using Integrated City Data and Machine Learning to Identify and Intervene Early on Housing-Related Public Health Problems. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, Publish Ahead of Print. 

Robb, K., Marcoux, A., & de Jong, J. (2021). Further Inspection: Integrating Housing Code Enforcement and Social Services to Improve Community Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22).