The CUSSH programme: learning how to support cities’ transformational change towards health and sustainability

Abstract

The Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH) project is a global research programme on the complex systemic connections between urban development and health. Through transdisciplinary methods it will develop critical evidence on how to achieve the far-reaching transformation of cities needed to address vital environmental imperatives for planetary health in the 21st century. CUSSH’s core components include: (i) a review of evidence on the effects of climate actions (both mitigation and adaptation) and factors influencing their implementation in urban settings; (ii) the development and application of methods for tracking the progress of cities towards sustainability and health goals; (iii) the development and application of models to assess the impact on population health, health inequalities, socio-economic development and environmental parameters of urban development strategies, in order to support policy decisions; (iv) iterative in-depth engagements with stakeholders in partner cities in low-, middle- and high-income settings, using systems-based participatory methods, to test and support the implementation of the transformative changes needed to meet local and global health and sustainability objectives; (v) a programme of public engagement and capacity building. Through these steps, the programme will provide transferable evidence on how to accelerate actions essential to achieving population-level health and global climate goals through, amongst others, changing cities’ energy provision, transport infrastructure, green infrastructure, air quality, waste management and housing.

Climate change projections for sustainable and healthy cities

“…For CUSSH, these complexities of city governance and planning are taken into account in the project protocol (Davies et al 2021) and programme theory (Moore et al 2021). Participatory methods have been used to work with stakeholders in each CUSSH partner city to identify the preliminary environmental and health priorities for the research (Belesova et al 2018;Zimmermann et al 2020).…”

“…It is important that climate modellers understand and engage with the complex social, political, cultural and environmental factors affecting climate adaptation policies in cities, including historical policies that may have contributed to inequitable exposures to the UHI (Hoffman et al 2020). These complex factors highlight the value of participatory engagement and an interdisciplinary environment for projects such as CUSSH (Davies et al 2021). The CUSSH programme theory encompasses both action and change models, together with evaluation of processes and outcomes (Moore et al 2021).…”

“…Climate information is only one component of the scientific evidence base being developed in the CUSSH project. The actions the CUSSH project aims to promote are based on multi-sectoral policies, addressing challenges at the broader system level encouraging an integrated approach to interventions, which impact upon both human and planetary health (Davies et al 2021).…”

Evidence-informed urban health and sustainability governance in two Chinese cities

“…This study responds to calls for investigation of local 'cultures of evidence use' in a specific policy context (Oliver & Boaz 2019), considering urban sustainability and health policies in two Chinese cities. The present research is part of a large transdisciplinary project called Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), which aims to work with six city partners (Nairobi, Kisumu, Beijing, Ningbo, London and Rennes) to 'ensure wide participation in the development ("co-creation") and use of research evidence by decision-makers' (Davies et al 2021). 1 China is an important case for understanding environmental health decision-making given its status as the largest producer of CO 2 emissions, comprising 28% of the global total (Friedlingstein et al 2019) and its status as the most populous country in the world with 1.43 billion people in 2019, comprising 19% of the global total (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division 2019).…”

“…This study responds to calls for investigation of local ‘cultures of evidence use’ in a specific policy context ( Oliver & Boaz 2019 ), considering urban sustainability and health policies in two Chinese cities. The present research is part of a large transdisciplinary project called Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), which aims to work with six city partners (Nairobi, Kisumu, Beijing, Ningbo, London and Rennes) to ‘ensure wide participation in the development (“co-creation”) and use of research evidence by decision-makers’ ( Davies et al . 2021 ).…”