The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has compromised the 'healthy cities' vision, as it has unveiled the need to give more prominence to caring tasks while addressing intersectional social inequities and environmental injustices. However, much-needed transdisciplinary approaches to study and address post-COVID-19 healthy cities challenges and agendas have been scarce so far. To address this gap, we propose a 'just ecofeminist healthy cities' research approach, which would be informed by the caring city, environmental justice, just ecofeminist sustainability and the healthy cities paradigms and research fields. Our proposed approach aims to achieve the highest standards of human health possible for the whole population—yet putting the health of socially underprivileged residents in the centre—through preserving and/or improving the existing physical, social and political environment. Importantly, the proposed approach recognises all spheres of daily life (productive, reproductive, personal and political) and their connections with inequities, justice and power dynamics. Last, the just ecofeminist healthy cities approach understands human health as interconnected with the health of non-human animals and the ecosystem. We illustrate the proposed new approach focusing on the implications for women's health and public green spaces research and propose principles and practices for its operationalisation.
Urban green space is demonstrated to benefit human health. We evaluated whether neighborhood gentrification status matters when considering the health benefits of green space, and whether the benefits are received equitably across racial and socioeconomic groups. Greater exposure to active green space was significantly associated with lower odds of reporting fair or poor health, but only for those living in gentrifying neighborhoods. In gentrifying neighborhoods, only those with high education or high incomes benefited from neighborhood active green space. Structural interventions, such as new green space, should be planned and evaluated within the context of urban social inequity and change. ; The researched presented in this paper received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No.678034 and grant agreement No. 730243). This research contributes tothe Maria de Maetzu Unit of Excellence grant (MDM-2015-0552) at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology. In addition, JJTC was funded by the Spanish government's Juan de la Cierva incorporation fellowship (IJCI-2016-31100) and MTM was funded by the Juan dela Cierva formation fellowship (FJCI-2017-33842). The dataset used in analyses for this paper, NYC Community Health Survey, 2009–2013 was obtained from the Bureau of Epidemiology Services in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
AbstractThis article explores the role that green gentrification plays in exacerbating racial tensions within historically marginalized urban communities benefiting from new environmental amenities such as parks, gardens, waterfront restoration and greenways. Building on extensive qualitative data from three cities in Europe (Amsterdam, Vienna, Lyon) and four cities in the United States (Washington, Austin, Atlanta, Cleveland), we use thematic analysis and grounded theory to examine the complex relationship between historical environmental and racial injustices and current racial green inequities produced by the green city agenda. Our analysis also offers insights into the main differences in how community members articulate concerns and demands over racial issues related to green gentrification in Europe versus North America. Results show that urban greening—and green gentrification specifically—can create 'compounded environmental racisms' by worsening racial environmental injustices and further perpetrating green racialized displacement, re‐segregation and exclusion. The latter is produced by the racial inequities embedded in green infrastructure projects and the related unequal access to environmental benefits, affordable housing, political rights and place‐making. Moreover, we find that settler colonial practices combined with persisting exposure to toxins and re‐segregation in the United States together with neocolonial spatial and social practices in Europe shape how racialized community members perceive and interact with new green amenities.
Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSIC ; Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M ; In the movement towards building greener and more sustainable cities, real estate developers are increasingly embracing not only green building construction but broader strategies and action related to urban greening. To date, their motivations and role in this broader urban greening dynamic remains underexplored, yet essential to dissect how greening is sustained and real estate development legitimized in revitalizing neighborhoods. With an eye to better understand green urban capitalist development processes underway amidst financialized nature and urban growth, and the equity impacts they entail, we explore residential real estate developers urban greening discourses and practices. Through a novel dataset of 42 interviews with private and non-profit residential real estate developers in 15 mid-sized American, Western European and Canadian cities, we uncover three differentiated but interconnected discourses around (i) financial benefits, (ii) consumer- or investor-driven demand and (iii) social dimensions behind developers' interest in urban greening. We argue that developers embark on urban green grabbing through "green" discursive and material value appropriation and rent extraction strategies. Urban green grabbing is conceptually useful in depicting who benefits and how/when developers extract additional rent, surplus value, social capital and/or prestige from locating new residential projects adjacent to new or up-and-coming green amenities. Our work contributes to debates about urban greening's perceived position as a value-producing and rent-extracting good from both a political economy and political ecology perspective
BACKGROUND: A number of studies have associated natural outdoor environments with reduced mortality but there is no systematic review synthesizing the evidence. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to systematically review the available evidence on the association between long-term exposure to residential green and blue spaces and mortality in adults, and make recommendations for further research. As a secondary aim, we also conducted meta-analyses to explore the magnitude of and heterogeneity in the risk estimates. METHODS: Following the PRISMA statement guidelines for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analysis, two independent reviewers searched studies using keywords related to natural outdoor environments and mortality. DISCUSSION: Our review identified twelve eligible studies conducted in North America, Europe, and Oceania with study populations ranging from 1645 up to more than 43 million individuals. These studies are heterogeneous in design, study population, green space assessment and covariate data.We found that the majority of studies show a reduction of the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in areas with higher residential greenness. Evidence of a reduction of all-cause mortality is more limited, and no benefits of residential greenness on lung cancer mortality are observed. There were no studies on blue spaces. CONCLUSIONS: This review supports the hypothesis that living in areas with higher amounts of green spaces reduces mortality, mainly CVD. Further studies such as cohort studies with more and better covariate data, improved green space assessment and accounting well for socioeconomic status are needed to provide further and more complete evidence, as well as studies evaluating the benefits of blue spaces. ; This project was funded by the CERCA Institutes Integration Program (SUMA 2013) [promoted and managed by the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Ministry Economy and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia (SUR), the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) and the CERCA Institute]. Payam Dadvand is funded by a Ramón y Cajal fellowship (RYC-2012-10,995) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Margarita Triguero-Mas is funded by a pre-doctoral grant from the Catalan Government (AGAUR FI-DGR-2013).
Background: The number of urban community gardens, including those on rooftops, is increasing. However, few studies have explored the benefits of these gardens for people with intellectual disabilities or mental health disorders. We evaluated the association between urban rooftop gardening and quality of life of individuals with moderate to very marked disability. Methods: We collected quality of life information with a preliminary version of the INTEGRAL Scale questionnaire from all gardeners (n = 54) and among a comparison group of nongardeners (n = 43). We also conducted semi-structured interviews with participants and technicians, and made field observations. Results: Our results indicated that urban rooftop gardening was associated with better personal development and suggested enhanced physical and emotional well-being, sense of purpose, social inclusion, interpersonal relations (including new perspectives on the urban environment and the changes in social roles), and general quality of life. Conclusion: Our study extends the evidence on the potential benefits of urban rooftop gardening in general, and specifically for those with intellectual disabilities and mental health disorders. ; The research presented in this article received funding from the Town Council of Barcelona and from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement no. 678034). These sponsors had no role in the design or analysis of this study. No copyrighted material was used in this manuscript.
Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552 ; In global cities, the impacts of gentrification on the lives and well-being of socially vulnerable residents have occupied political agendas. Yet to date, research on how gentrification affects a multiplicity of health outcomes has remained scarce. While much of the nascent quantitative research helps to identify associations between gentrification and determined health outcomes, it tends to draw from static datasets collected for other studies to draw a posteriori and non-longitudinal conclusions. There is little attention in traditional public health research to purposely understand the health impacts of the complex, multi-layered, and rapid change produced by gentrification. Moreover, few studies examine the pathways and socio-spatial dynamics of the association between gentrification and health. In response, we use qualitative data collected in Boston and Barcelona to comprehensively identify how the health and well-being of long-term residents may be affected by gentrification and to call for new multi-methods research. In this initial assessment, we find a range of potential detrimental factors and potential pathways associated with gentrification, including individual-level physical and mental health outcomes such as obesity, asthma, chronic stress, and depression; neighborhood-level health determinants such as safety and new drug-dealing/use; and institutional-level health determinants such as healthcare precarity and worsened school conditions.
This cross-sectional study investigated whether physical activity, social cohesion, and loneliness mediate the association between time spent visiting green spaces and perceived mental health and vitality. Questionnaire data were collected from 3,948 residents from 124 neighborhoods across four European cities. Multilevel linear regression analysis revealed positive, but weak, associations between time spent visiting green space and Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36) mental health and vitality score, which suggest small mental health benefits. Single mediation analyses showed that different indicators of physical activity (total, during leisure time, and walking during leisure time), social cohesion, and loneliness were mediators. Multiple mediation analyses showed that physical activity during leisure time and loneliness may explain about 25% of the relationship. The unmediated part of the association suggests that other mediators may explain the association.
Urban outdoor play spaces are reported to improve children's health. However, there is little empirical evidence on the impact of outdoor play spaces on childhood mental and behavioral health. To fill this gap, we investigated the associations between residential proximity to outdoor play spaces and the prevalence of diagnosed mental and behavioral disorders. We explored whether these associations differ by individual and area-level socio-economic status (SES). This cross-sectional study included 151 110 children who were 0-12 years old in 2014 and were visited in public primary health care centers in Barcelona (Spain). Each child's demographic and mental and behavioral disorders information was extracted for 2005-2014, including diagnoses on disorders of psychological development together with other four types of mental and behavioral disorders. The pediatrician diagnosed mental and behavioral disorders we explored in this study were: mood/affective; neurotic, stress-related and somatoform; psychological development; behavioral and emotional; and overall mental and behavioral disorders. We assessed 300 m network buffer residential proximity to overall outdoor play spaces (i.e., the overall sum of play spaces of any type), outdoor green play spaces, and to a diversity of outdoor play spaces. We used robust Poisson regression models to investigate the association between proximity to outdoor play spaces indicators and each health outcome. We tested interaction terms for indicators of proximity to outdoor play spaces and individual and area SES. For measures with significant interaction terms, we conducted stratified models. We found residential proximity to outdoor play spaces to be protective of disorders of psychological development. Proximity to overall outdoor play spaces, proximity to outdoor green play spaces and proximity to a greater diversity of outdoor play spaces were associated with a 4% (95% CI: 1,7), 4% (95% CI: 1,7) and 5% (95% CI: 2,9) lower prevalence rates of disorders of psychological development respectively. Most of the associations were found to be in the same direction-although more pronounced-in low SES areas, but in the opposite direction for children living in high SES areas. No differences in these associations were found by individual SES. Residential proximity to outdoor play spaces is protective of children's mental and behavioral health living in low SES areas. ; This work was supported by the GREENLULU's Project under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework [grant number 678034]; the NATURVATION Project under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework [grant number 730243]; the ECHOCAT project of La Marató de TV3 Foundation [grant number 201621–30] and the the María de Maeztu Program for Units of Excellence of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [grant number CEX 2019-000940-M]. HC and MTM are funded by Juan de la Cierva fellowships awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant number FJCI-2018-035322 and FJCI-2017-33842]. The sponsors had no role in the design or analysis of this study.
Exposure to natural outdoor environments (NOE) has been shown in population-level studies to reduce anxiety and psychological distress. This study investigated how exposure to one's everyday natural outdoor environments over one week influenced mood among residents of four European cities including Barcelona (Spain), Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom), Doetinchem (The Netherlands) and Kaunas (Lithuania). Participants (n = 368) wore a smartphone equipped with software applications to track location and mood (using mobile ecological momentary assessment (EMA) software), for seven consecutive days. We estimated random-effects ordered logistic regression models to examine the association between mood (positive and negative affect), and exposure to green space, represented by two binary variables indicating exposure versus no exposure to NOE using GPS tracking and satellite and aerial imagery, 10 and 30 min prior to participants' completing the EMA. Models were adjusted for home city, day of the week, hour of the day, EMA survey type, residential NOE exposure, and sex, age, education level, mental health status and neighbourhood socioeconomic status. In addition, we tested for heterogeneity of effect by city, sex, age, residential NOE exposure and mental health status. Within 10 min of NOE exposure, compared to non-exposure, we found that overall there was a positive relationship with positive affect (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.81) of EMA surveys, and non-significant negative association with negative affect (OR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.58, 1.10). When stratifying, associations were consistently found for Stoke-on-Trent inhabitants and men, while findings by age group were inconsistent. Weaker and less consistent associations were found for exposure 30 min prior to EMA. Our findings support increasing evidence of psychological and mental health benefits of exposure to natural outdoor environments, especially among urban populations such as those included in our study. ; This study was funded from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013) under grant agreement No: 282996 (ENV.2011.1.2.3-2). Margarita Triguero-Mas was funded by the Spanish government's Juan de la Cierva training fellowship (FJCI-2017-33842). We owe thanks to Graham Smith for his help in the geocoding process and in the production of exposure measures; Magdalena van den Berg, Tania Martínez-Íñiguez and Tomas Grazulevicius for their help collecting data; Marta Cirach, and Audrius Dedele for their contributions in the geocoding process and in the production of exposure measures; Hanneke Kruize for her initial contributions in the conception of the study and Judith Cirac-Claveras for her contributions in data management.
INTRODUCTION: Until now, estimates of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) have mainly been produced on national or regional levels. These general estimates, however, are less useful for city governments who have to take decisions on local scales. To address this gap, we focused on the city-level burden of disease (BD) due to exposures affected by urban and transport planning. We conducted a BD assessment using the Urban and Transport Planning Health Impact Assessment (UTOPHIA) tool to estimate annual preventable morbidity and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) under compliance with international exposure recommendations for physical activity (PA), exposure to air pollution, noise, heat, and access to green spaces in Barcelona, Spain. METHODS: Exposure estimates and morbidity data were available for 1,357,361 Barcelona residents ≥20years (2012). We compared recommended with current exposure levels to estimate the associated BD. We quantified associations between exposures and morbidities and calculated population attributable fractions to estimate the number of attributable cases. We calculated DALYs using GBD Study 2015 background DALY estimates for Spain, which were scaled to Barcelona considering differences in population size, age and sex structures. We also estimated annual health costs that could be avoided under compliance with exposure recommendations. RESULTS: Not complying with recommended levels for PA, air pollution, noise, heat and access to green spaces was estimated to generate a large morbidity burden and resulted in 52,001 DALYs (95% CI: 42,866-61,136) in Barcelona each year (13% of all annual DALYs). From this BD 36% (i.e. 18,951 DALYs) was due to traffic noise with sleep disturbance and annoyance contributing largely (i.e. 10,548 DALYs). Non-compliance was estimated to result in direct health costs of 20.10 million € (95% CI: 15.36-24.83) annually. CONCLUSIONS: Non-compliance of international exposure recommendations was estimated to result in a considerable BD and in substantial economic expenditure each year in Barcelona. Our findings suggest that (1) the reduction of motor traffic together with the promotion of active transport and (2) the provision of green infrastructure would result in a considerable BD avoided and substantial savings to the public health care system, as these measures can provide mitigation of noise, air pollution and heat as well as opportunities for PA promotion. ; This study was supported by internal ISGlobal funding. Margarita Triguero-Mas is funded by a grant from the Catalan Government (AGAUR FI-DGR-2013). Payam Dadvand is funded by a Ramón y Cajal fellowship (RYC-2012-10995) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Finance.
This study investigated whether residential availability of natural outdoor environments (NOE) was associated with contact with NOE, overall physical activity and physical activity in NOE, in four different European cities using objective measures. A nested cross-sectional study was conducted in Barcelona (Spain); Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom); Doetinchem (The Netherlands); and Kaunas (Lithuania). Smartphones were used to collect information on the location and physical activity (overall and NOE) of around 100 residents of each city over seven days. We used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine residential NOE availability (presence/absence of NOE within 300 m buffer from residence), contact with NOE (time spent in NOE), overall PA (total physical activity), NOE PA (total physical activity in NOE). Potential effect modifiers were investigated. Participants spent around 40 min in NOE and 80 min doing overall PA daily, of which 11% was in NOE. Having residential NOE availability was consistently linked with higher NOE contact during weekdays, but not to overall PA. Having residential NOE availability was related to NOE PA, especially for our Barcelona participants, people that lived in a city with low NOE availability. ; This study was funded from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013) under grant agreement No: 282996 (ENV.2011.1.2.3-2). Margarita Triguero-Mas is funded by a pre-doctoral grant from the Catalan Government (AGAUR FI-DGR-2013)
