Introducing walkable cities as a Public Health intervention

Abstract COVID-19 pandemic yet again showed that health crises and epidemics are introducing urban planning as a public health response. Globally, we saw a renewed interest in urban environment and healthy living and the changes in urban environments which can make for a healthier living. Even before the pandemic, various urban concepts and models that take as basis a health-oriented, holistic approach are being implemented in many cities. To name a few: car-free centres or neighbourhoods, the so-called ‘Superblocks’, neighbourhoods with low-speed traffic, walkable and cyclable cities aiming at all amenities being easy reach so-called ‘15 Minutes city’. COVID-19 crisis only accelerated many of these initiatives and brought them to global level need and attention. Such interventions are being introduced to demotivate the use of polluting cars, to ease up and to promote healthy and active transportation such as walking and cycling. As a consequence, those interventions not only are hoped to lead to an increase in physical activity, but also better air quality, reduction of noise. Cities have accelerated urban transformations of the space for active transportation such as the introduction of more cycling lanes in their networks, transforming ‘car’ streets to mix use streets, etc. Particularly during the pandemic, the streets that were previously dominated by car use, parking lots, parking spaces, and car lanes have shifted their focus to the pedestrians, healthy and active mobility. Though, not so optimistic continuation of the speed of the changes in urban planning are seen at the end of the pandemic. It is still clear that spaces for people, spaces promoting mental health such as green spaces, green islands, green pedestrian streets and healthy mobility, are missing. Lockdown measures of reducing the car traffic and increasing the walkable spaces for citizens were primarily imposed to save public health but had one important co-benefit - improved air quality in many areas.

According to the ''Urban Health Rome Declaration'' at European meeting ''G7 Health'' that defines the strategic aspects and actions to improve Urban, Environmental and Public Mental Health into the cities, and referring to the Agenda 2030 in which the 11th SDG argue about ''Sustainable Cities and Communities.Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable'', one of the most expressive syntheses of the challenging relationship between urban planning and Public Health is stated by WHO (2016): ''Health is the precondition of urban sustainable development and the first priority for urban planners''.Referring to the Healthy Cities & Urban Health definitions, we can consider Public Health not merely an aspect of individual health protection and promotion, but a collective condition, strongly influenced by the environmental context and by the strategies implemented by local Governments.The ''Health in All Policies'' strategy, clearly underlines how health depend by the quality of outdoor and indoor living environments.In this scenario, healthy living and the requirements for healthy places, infrastructure for the public good and Public Health, cycling, walking, disintegrating the role of polluting traffic from the urban environments, social vulnerability and equality are just a few aspects in complex puzzle when designing the urban spaces for healthy, active, walkable cities.The lockdown due to the pandemic has prevented travels, forcing many people to work at home and reducing the possibility of accessing services in the territory.This condition has further highlighted the importance of urban living areas capable of satisfying basic needs within a reasonably easy range of accessibility.The concept of the ''15 minutes city'' is a useful vision to represent the city of proximity, where it is possible to meet the needs for sustainable, fair, quality, and healthy living.This dimension of proximity can be central to formulating strategies to improve the quality of urban life.A place of proximity, therefore not only defined based on the physical characteristics and people's uses, but also based on the data collected from a public health perspective in which it is also possible to try to test different types of information and build the conditions to suggest suitable policies and projects.Aim of the Workshop -organized by the two EUPHA Section URB+ENV -it would like to be to build the capacity and knowledge between participants about the main topics and urban features capable to have relevant Urban Public and Environmental Health outcomes.Additional scope is to collected case studies and research experiences considered virtuous at the international level, analyzed in detail to highlight the main urban and architectural features of those healthy experiences and the related health outcomes, such as sedentary lifestyle reduction, increase of the attractiveness of places, reduction of air and noise pollution.
COVID-19 pandemic yet again showed that health crises and epidemics are introducing urban planning as a public health response.Globally, we saw a renewed interest in urban environment and healthy living and the changes in urban environments which can make for a healthier living.Even before the pandemic, various urban concepts and models that take as basis a health-oriented, holistic approach are being implemented in many cities.To name a few: car-free centres or neighbourhoods, the so-called 'Superblocks', neighbourhoods with low-speed traffic, walkable and cyclable cities aiming at all amenities being easy reach so-called '15 Minutes city'.COVID-19 crisis only accelerated many of these initiatives and brought them to global level need and attention.Such interventions are being introduced to demotivate the use of polluting cars, to ease up and to promote healthy and active transportation such as walking and cycling.As a consequence, those interventions not only are hoped to lead to an increase in physical activity, but also better air quality, reduction of noise.Cities have accelerated urban transformations of the space for active transportation such as the introduction of more cycling lanes in their networks, transforming 'car' streets to mix use streets, etc. Particularly during the pandemic, the streets that were previously dominated by car use, parking lots, parking spaces, and car lanes have shifted their focus to the pedestrians, healthy and active mobility.Though, not so optimistic continuation of the speed of the changes in urban planning are seen at the end of the pandemic.It is still clear that spaces for people, spaces promoting mental health such as green spaces, green islands, green pedestrian streets and healthy mobility, are missing.Lockdown measures of reducing the car traffic and increasing the walkable spaces for citizens were primarily imposed to save public health but had one important co-benefit -improved air quality in many areas.
Abstract citation ID: ckac129.078(Re)thinking the city of proximity for Salutogenic purposes

Andrea Rebecchi
A Rebecchi 1 , F Crespi 2 , S Capolongo 1 1 Department of Architecture, Built Environment, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy 2 School of Architecture Planning Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy Contact: andrea.rebecchi@polimi.itAs centres of population and human activities, nowadays urban environments are simultaneously the main cause of and solution to a growing number of health-related challenges.In this setting, COVID-19 pandemic has helped reiterate this and serves as a wake-up call and an opportunity to rethink the way we approach cities. Aim of this paper is to research what today seems the most promising urban model for long-term individual and global resilience: the ''city of proximity'', namely about inclusive walkable and cycling environments where people can access all basic destinations within reasonable times and distances from home.Therefore, urban proximity dimension, methodological approach and urban features and functions become the main subject of a quantiqualitative matrix of comparison of five international case studies centred on the topic, by which it is possible to set out general criteria for such model, along with a methodology to measure all cities in its respect.As a result, residential density, functional mix, pedestrian surface, cycle routes, public transport stops, green areas, schools, cultural facilities, sport facilities, retail services and urban gardens make up the fix components of a comprehensive set of 11+n urban features, whose occurrence is investigated through GIS-based analysis within designated distance ranges, creating a comprehensive assessment framework that is adjustable to all urban contexts worldwide.In the end, the application of such framework to the city of Milan finally helps to validate its effectiveness in providing a picture of city-wide accessibility to proximity services, and in highlighting the value of integrated analysis in view of shaping public policies and informed planning choices which put health and sustainability at the centre.

Abstract citation ID: ckac129.079
The city of proximity (accessible, inclusive, sustainable, healthy & salutogenic): the case of Brussels Bourse, Grand-Place station The ecological dimension is expressed, among other things, in the matter of movement and the process of appropriation of local spaces.The creation of public space is oriented towards centralising and bringing exchanges closer together.It is a recognition of the ways of life of the individual who has become aware of the other essentials for human well-being.How does the proximity of multimodality and culture strengthen the urbanity?And how does it influence urban intensity, livability, health & the salutogenic approach of public space?The study investigates the quality of public mobility spaces through design, multimodality and sustainable planning by surveying the case of Bourse-Grand-Place station in Brussels.This transformation project is the subject of an empirical method using the material of recent research on urban design and professional practice.Falling within the scope of the ''Cities for People'' vision of the future, the design of this project integrates socio-cultural activities around the idea of ''Station for People''.A concept based on universal accessibility ensures that all individuals can access it.Thereafter, an evolving social economy programme promoted cycling through equipment, maintenance, recycling, training, innovation and the encouragement of cycling culture.The breakthrough of the innovative multimodal design process based on multidisciplinarity could become a helpful urban strategy, oriented toward making proximate neighbourhoods both residentially and practically attractive.The present article carries out an enquiry of how design and urban activities take part in strategies to improve the quality of the public spaces.It reveals some hints that could help urban practitioners when making decisions regarding the quality of an urban place and 'living together' oriented developments.With a contribution to climate change issues, this article demonstrates how urban design can contribute to the quality of life of users and citizens.The effects of the environment on health are well documented and prove to be a real public health problem.It is therefore essential to raise public awareness of these issues to induce preventive and protective behaviours.We focused on two methods: passive information transmission (top-down approach) and citizen science (bottom-up approach).The study aims to compare both approaches while raising awareness among Brussels citizens.We created two groups: a traditional awareness group, receiving infographics by email, 15th European Public Health Conference 2022 Health, Universite ´Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium 4 Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium Contact: marija.jevtic@uns.ac.rs Health, Universite ´Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium Contact: Pascaline.Incourt@ulb.be