Ask most people what a public health professional does, and few will picture a civil engineer. Suha Atiyeh would like to change that — because her work demonstrates, with measurable evidence, that infrastructure decisions are health decisions made at city scale.
The connection is more direct than most realize. Standing stormwater breeds mosquito populations linked to vector-borne illnesses. Impervious urban surfaces amplify heat island effects that drive heat-related mortality. Narrow sidewalks and vehicle-dominated streets reduce physical activity, contributing to chronic disease. Flood-damaged homes harbor mold that triggers respiratory conditions for years after the water recedes.
Atiyeh's redesign of Wheeler Road SE in Washington DC addressed all of these threads simultaneously. By eliminating chronic flooding through integrated green stormwater systems, she removed the conditions that sustained standing water — and with it, the associated health risks. Wider pedestrian areas and improved street environments reduced traffic conflict and encouraged walking. Green plantings lowered surface temperatures and improved air quality in a neighborhood that had long experienced environmental inequity.
Along MLK Jr. Avenue, rain gardens and expanded sidewalks created safer conditions for pedestrians of all ages, with particular benefits for children walking to school and elderly residents navigating the corridor. At St. Elizabeths Campus and Kenilworth Courts, formerly flooded zones became shaded gathering spaces that support the mental and social wellbeing of public housing residents.
In the UAE, her contributions to Masdar City's water strategy confronted a different public health reality: in an arid climate, water scarcity itself is a health emergency. Systems designed for maximum retention and reuse while minimizing contamination addressed that risk at the infrastructure level.
Atiyeh's LEED AP, Envision, and Estidama Pearl credentials require performance tracking that captures not only runoff reduction but community-level outcomes. As ICE Mid-Atlantic South Representative, Suha Atiyeh urges colleagues across the profession to recognize what her projects already prove: every engineering decision is a public health decision.
