Defining pathways to healthy sustainable urban development
•Need for substantive linkages between health and urban sustainability sciences.•Urbanization, urbanicity, cities distinct concepts, each relevant for health.•Pervasive synergies and tradeoffs between determinants of health.•Research approaches must span scales, sectors, and disciplines.•Monitoring...
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Published in | Environment international Vol. 146; no. 1; p. 106236 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Netherlands
Elsevier Ltd
01.01.2021
Elsevier |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | •Need for substantive linkages between health and urban sustainability sciences.•Urbanization, urbanicity, cities distinct concepts, each relevant for health.•Pervasive synergies and tradeoffs between determinants of health.•Research approaches must span scales, sectors, and disciplines.•Monitoring implementation, effective governance, equity-driven planning critical.
Goals and pathways to achieve sustainable urban development have multiple interlinkages with human health and wellbeing. However, these interlinkages have not been examined in depth in recent discussions on urban sustainability and global urban science. This paper fills that gap by elaborating in detail the multiple links between urban sustainability and human health and by mapping research gaps at the interface of health and urban sustainability sciences. As researchers from a broad range of disciplines, we aimed to: 1) define the process of urbanization, highlighting distinctions from related concepts to support improved conceptual rigour in health research; 2) review the evidence linking health with urbanization, urbanicity, and cities and identify cross-cutting issues; and 3) highlight new research approaches needed to study complex urban systems and their links with health. This novel, comprehensive knowledge synthesis addresses issue of interest across multiple disciplines. Our review of concepts of urban development should be of particular value to researchers and practitioners in the health sciences, while our review of the links between urban environments and health should be of particular interest to those outside of public health. We identify specific actions to promote health through sustainable urban development that leaves no one behind, including: integrated planning; evidence-informed policy-making; and monitoring the implementation of policies. We also highlight the critical role of effective governance and equity-driven planning in progress towards sustainable, healthy, and just urban development. |
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Bibliography: | USDOE AC05-00OR22725; Az. 94 254; RYC-2015-17402 Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Volkswagen Foundation |
ISSN: | 0160-4120 1873-6750 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106236 |