European healthy city network phase V: Patterns emerging for healthy urban planning

Grant, Marcus

Abstract

There is a tradition of planning cities and their infrastructure to successfully tackle communicable disease arising from urban development. Non-communicable disease follows a different course. Development brings in its wake a basket of adverse health and health equity outcomes that are proving difficult to tackle. In response, within Phase V of the European Healthy Cities Network, municipalities have implemented a range of policy and physical interventions using a settings approach.

Due to the time lag between physical interventions and health outcomes, this research interrogates city activity itself to develop better understanding. Self-reported city case studies and questionnaire data were analysed to reveal patterns using an inductive approach. Findings indicate that some categories of intervention, such as whole city planning and transport, have a systemic impact across the wider determinants of health. Addressing transferability and stakeholder understanding helped cities create conditions for successful outcomes. Cities had varying urban development approaches for tackling climate change. Improvements to current practice are discussed, including; a distinction between supply side and demand side in healthy urban planning; valuing co-benefits; and developing integrative approaches to the evidence-base.

This evaluative paper is important for cities wanting to learn how to maximise benefits to public health through urban development and for researchers exploring, with a systemic approach, the experiences of European cities acting at the interface of urban development and public health. This paper also provides recommendations for future phases of the WHO European Healthy Cities programme, posing questions to better address governance and equity in spatial planning.

Citation

Grant, M. (2015). European healthy city network phase V: Patterns emerging for healthy urban planning. Health Promotion International, 30(S1), i54-i70. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dav033

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2015
• Journal: Health Promotion International
• Print ISSN: 0957-4824
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: S1
• Pages: i54-i70
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dav033
• Keywords: healthy cities, healthy urban planning, city planning, World Health Organisation
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/833554
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dav033
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Health Promotion International following peer review. The version of record Grant, M. (2015) European healthy city network phase V: Patterns emerging for healthy urban planning. Health Promotion International, 30 (S1). i54-i70. ISSN 0957-4824 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dav033