Improving health and wellbeing through health-centred, evidence-based urban planning methodologies

ISSUE/PROBLEM: The relationship between urban design and human health has been repeatedly established. In fact, research has shown that urban design can influence the greatest challenges to communities’ physical, mental and social well-being around the globe. One of today's biggest health burdens is related to non-communicable diseases, and a facilitating factor in the development of these non-communicable diseases is the design of urban spaces. Currently, urban planning and revitalization are based dominantly on profit criteria with routinized methodologies, with little focus on health and wellbeing. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM: HEART is a collaborative EU-funded project that addresses this issue by upgrading the conventional approach to urban planning towards integrated nature-based methods and concepts with emphasis on health, societal and environmental aspects through the unique concept of Health Centred Planning Methodology. The project aims to improve urban health and reduce health disparities through an innovative Blue-Green-Solutions-based implementation mechanisms of urban planning that embraces and promotes health and wellbeing as a key-planning criterion. To achieve this, HEART is engaging local communities to map the needs and challenges and to express their expectations and preferences so that delivered solutions are co-created and embraced by citizens. It also collects data from three demo sites in three cities - Athens, Belgrade, and Aarhus - to implement nature-based solutions that will address pre-identified socio-cultural, health, and well-being issues. HEART also uses medical evidence in clinical and non-clinical setting to produce evidence proving the effects of various Blue-Green Solutions on public health and wellbeing. LESSONS: Evidence generated by HEART can be used by stakeholders - such as policymakers and city and health authorities - in their decision-making process around urban planning.