Urban environmental health interventions towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The aim of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. Since the majority of the global population lives in cities, it is crucial to identify, evaluate and implement urban interventions (such as zero carbon housing, active transport, better urban connectivity, air pollution control, clean household fuels, and protection from heat and flood events) that will improve health and wellbeing and make our natural and built environment more sustainable. This Virtual Special Issue (VSI) comprises of 14 diverse case studies, methods and tools that provide suggestions for interventions which directly or indirectly support the achievement of the UN SDGs.

Assessment and appraisal of local governance on urban flood resilience in Bangkok Metropolitan Region: perspectives of SDGs 11 and 13

“…According to Green (2010), a sustainable flood risk governance strategy should be a swift and continuous process of learning and improving from past strategies, keeping in mind to achieve more outcomes, albeit consuming less resources. Moreover, implementing sustainable urban flood risk governance should have climate-sensitive policies that cross sectoral boundaries to achieve an overall healthier urban environment (Vardoulakis et al , 2020) and cost-efficient development. However, it is extremely difficult to mainstream a sustainable urban flood risk governance at the local level with concerns on low community participation and weak institutional capacities and resources (Dany and Lebel, 2020).…”

Traveler Biosecurity Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects of Intervention, Resilience, and Sustainable Development Goals

“…The COVID-19 pandemic poses a significant challenge for sustainability, and especially the SDGs in terms of an international public health emergency and an associated period of lower economic growth (Heggen, Sandset, and Engebretsen 2020; The Lancet Public Health 2020; Thornton 2020). The various SDGs have been identified as having a critical role in promoting sustainable tourism at both a collective and individual level (Boluk, Cavaliere, and (Vardoulakis et al 2020). The different SDGs are also recognized as contributing to community, regional, and individual resilience and adaptation capacities (Croese, Green, and Morgan 2020), suggesting that the different aspects of sustainability that the SDGs represent can act as moderators between resilience and behavior.…”

“…The various SDGs have been identified as having a critical role in promoting sustainable tourism at both a collective and individual level (Boluk, Cavaliere, and Higgins-Desbiolles 2019; Rasoolimanesh et al 2020). Behavioral interventions related to the SDGs show different impacts depending on the different goals (McElwee et al 2020), suggesting that the different areas of sustainability that the SDGs represent are potential moderators of the relationship between behavioral intervention and behavior (Vardoulakis et al 2020). The different SDGs are also recognized as contributing to community, regional, and individual resilience and adaptation capacities (Croese, Green, and Morgan 2020), suggesting that the different aspects of sustainability that the SDGs represent can act as moderators between resilience and behavior.…”

Sustainability policies and strategies for Indonesian millennials and the role of environmental law experts

“…Achieving the goal of sustainable environmental health, of course, requires the role of the parties, especially the government and specialists who can design policies and strategies to move the community, especially young Indonesians, to care about environmental conservation (Vardoulakis et al, 2020). Since several decades ago, there has been a change and commitment of the parties to care for the environment, not only in developing countries but also in developing countries where through various moments, the state is present to regulate and invite the wider community, especially the younger generation to care about the environment and avoid various actions, which can threaten environmental safety.…”