Commentary

Abstract

T he city is now regarded as primary form of settlement, accommodating over half the world's population and almost 75% of the european population. [1][2][3] Urbanization is continuing at rapid rates worldwide 4 and the world is currently witnessing its largest surge of urban growth in human history. 5 Cities have long been known to be society's predominant engine of innovation and wealth creation, yet they are also society's main source of crime, pollution, and disease. 6 In recent years, evidence has been emerging that urban and transport planning indicators such as roadway density and green space could explain large proportions of the variability in urban environmental exposures, such as air pollution and noise. this suggests that these indicators, and the decisions and practices behind them, are potentially responsible for a large burden of associated adverse health impacts. 7 this insight also provides a window of opportunity: if current urban and transport planning practices are responsible for a substantial but modifiable burden of disease, then improved practices within both fields could lead to new solutions for creating healthier and more sustainable communities. 1 In their current form in many cities, urban and transport planning practices are not only causing a self-reinforcing cycle of urban sprawl and motor vehicle-reliant travel but also, importantly, continue to discount the numerous health impacts associated with them.new paradigms, such as sustainable cities, resilient cities, active cities, healthy cities, and smart cities, are increasingly being envisioned and advocated across the different disciplines. In many cases, however, these continue to be developed without much integration across the disciplines, potentially missing conflicting effects of practices and policies that may be good from one perspective but particularly ineffective from another. Furthermore, the lack of multidisciplinary teams within the different stages of the planning and the decision-making of such initiatives leaves room for different interpretations, by the different stakeholders.at the 2nd early Career researchers Conference on environmental epidemiology (http://isee-young.iras.uu.nl/), we brought together different disciplines and organized two sessions around "healthy city environments." Four researchers from four disciplines-urban planning (razieh Zandieh), transport planning (Haneen Khreis), environment (erik van nunen), and public health (natalie mueller)-came together to explore the current health-related issues in city environments from the different perspectives, and to engage a wider audience in a discussion of potential future initiatives.the four presentations and the discussion around them focused on the following points:

The Associations Between Area Deprivation and Objectively Measured Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking Levels

“…Past research has shown that environmental attributes (e.g., land use mix and safety) may influence people's physical activity (Haselwandter et al, 2015;Khreis, van Nunen, Mueller, Zandieh, & Nieuwenhuijsen, 2017;Saelens, Sallis, Black, & Chen, 2003), such as walking (Haselwandter et al, 2015;Saelens & Handy, 2008). Associations between area deprivation and outdoor walking levels may be a sign of different influences of environmental attributes on participants' outdoor walking durations in low-and high-deprivation areas.…”

Do Inequalities in Neighborhood Walkability Drive Disparities in Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking?

“…To promote outdoor walking levels, a growing body of literature has addressed the link between the built environment and walking [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Although the influences of the built environment on walking are not yet well understood [ 13 , 14 ], transportation and urban planning research has identified some relationships between neighborhood built environment and outdoor walking [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Is Brief Exposure to Green Space in School the Best Option to Improve Attention in Children?

“…In an increasingly urban world, with almost 75% of the European population living in urban areas [ 1 ], urban planners and public health professionals need to work together [ 2 ] since various environmental exposures and lifestyles detrimental to health can be found in cities [ 3 ]. Natural spaces such as parks, gardens, urban trees, etc.…”