Introduction
The content of this tool is the result of joint work carried out by ISGlobal, the Public Health Service and the Public Space and Facilities Service of Barcelona Provincial Council, as part of the working group on the Urban Environment and Health.
For several years, the Public Space and Facilities Service has been part of Barcelona Provincial Council’s working group on the Urban Environment and Health, led by the Health Service. This is a space where knowledge and experiences are shared, collaborating on different projects, in a cross-cutting manner, with different departments of the Provincial Council that are linked to the urban environment in some way. Dissemination and training in the field of health, related to the urban environment that surrounds us, is also developed from within this space.
The public space as a key part of a healthy urban environment
Scientific evidence confirms that people’s health does not depend solely on individual factors, but goes beyond even the health system itself, since it is conditioned by different aspects related to our environment, such as social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental factors, among others.
Therefore, the urban environment, where a growing percentage of the world’s population lives, is so important when it comes to people’s health. Every day, more and more studies corroborate this, which is why Administrations must work to make the urban environment a healthy space where people can play out their daily lives.
Within this urban environment, public space is a key element. Quality public space—in other words, public space that is designed for the people, making it safe, accessible, sustainable, resilient, etc.—equals healthy public space.
It is important to bear in mind that public space can have a dual impact on improving people’s health. On the one hand, by creating a healthier environment, with less pollution, less noise, and more pleasant temperatures; and, on the other hand, by promoting healthy habits among people, such as travelling on foot or by bicycle to places of daily activity (work, school, facilities, shops, etc.), practising sport and outdoor leisure activities, and children’s play, among other things. By this, we are not just referring to physical health but also mental health, as public space must enable people to socialise, meet their neighbours, empower themselves and strengthen their sense of community.
With that in mind, by understanding public space as a key part of the urban environment, a few years ago we began to collaborate with ISGlobal to create a tool that would help us identify, based on published scientific literature, exactly which elements of public space have a direct impact on health. The goal of this tool is to assesshow good a public space in a city is for one’s health,and what should be avoided or encouraged in order to create a healthier urban environment.
A tool for assessing the potential impact on health of public space improvement measures
The fundamental part of the tool was identifying which elements of public space have a direct link to certain aspects of people’s health.
Thus, the starting point was the review carried out by ISGlobal on the scientific literature that has been published based on the premise that public space influences health. The literature review was extensive and consisted of searching for those the scientific texts that directly link a specific element of the public space with people’s health.
Based on this research, over 100 elements that have a direct bearing on people’s health were identified, with efforts made to organise them according to subject areas (what we call ‘determinants’) in order to make the tool more systematic.
These elements and determinants were discussed in two workshops attended by experts from different fields linked to public space, such as architects, town planners, municipal technicians and experts in health and the environment. In these workshops, a consensus was reached on how to classify the determinants and the elements included in each of them. The seven final determinants used in the tool are the following: environmental exposure, safety, maintenance and sanitation, accessibility and connectivity, uses, community, and comfort and attractiveness.
How the tool works
The aim was to create a tool that would be easy for public space planners to use. The result is a checklist-style questionnaire, divided into subject areas based on the seven determinants, in which all the questions related to the different elements are included.
All questions have three or four possible answers with a linked weighting. Throughout the questionnaire, questions may appear with a link to accompanying information. These links may be either to entire documents containing additional information on the subject of the question—for example, when we talk about the benefits of urban greenery, it links to the publication La cobertura de l'arbrat a la ciutat (Tree cover in the city)—or to a specific definition of a concept included in the question—for example, when we talk about thermal comfort and the SRI of the materials used is requested, it links to the definition given for this term in the document Propostes per a l'ambientalització de concursos públics d'edificació (Proposals for the greening of public building tenders). Once the questionnaire has been completed, tables of results and spider diagrams are generated for each determinant. Finally, on the last page, a spider diagram is created with the result and the weighting of all the determinants.
The tool also allows a direct comparison to be made between an existing space and the improvements proposed during the project phase, so that we can obtain comparative diagrams and make the right decisions to improve said public space, making it healthier for citizens.
Comparative diagrams are a useful tool for municipal representatives, as they allow them to disseminate and explain to citizens what points have been worked on to make the public space in question healthier for everyone.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The tool makes it possible to work on public space while encompassing sustainable development. Designing healthier public space contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have been adopted as part of a global agenda, especially the following:
- • Goal 3: to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of citizens at all ages; more specifically, contributing to target 3.9, by reducing the number of deaths and illnesses caused by air, water, and soil pollution through effective natural resource management.
- Goal 5: to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
- Goal 11: to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
- Goal 13: to take action to combat climate change and its effects.
- Objective 15: to promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, in particular, through target 15.9, by integrating ecosystem values and ecological diversity into local planning.
Other tools
The Urban Environment and Health website
Conclusion
Administrations must work to ensure that public space, as a key aspect of the urban environment, fosters people’s well-being, so that it can contribute to improving the environment and promoting healthy habits.
The ultimate goal of this collaborative project between ISGlobal, the Public Health Service and Barcelona Provincial Council’s Public Space and Facilities Service is to create a tool that allows municipal planners and technicians to quickly assess how healthy a public space currently is, identifying its weakest points and facilitating decision-making for improvement projects.
Credits
Authors
Laura Hidalgo López
Marta Viada Pagès
Carolyn Daher Johnson
Montse Montalbo Todolí
Cati Chamorro Moreno
Josep Torrentó Marselles
Public Space and Facilities Service
Patrícia Gaspà Gamundi
Sara Gutiérrez Alonso
Roser Llopis Marti
Íñigo Rebollo San Miguel
Coexistence and Diversity Service
Marina Pons Garcia
Carola Castellà Josa
Participation Service
Anna Garcia Masia
Thanks to everyone who participated in the various expert workshops
Berta Barrio Uría
Pedro Bonies
Pere Buil Castells
Carles Castell Puig
Albert Castells Vilalta
Pilar Cervantes Vinuesa
Anna Coello de Llobet
Jordi Comas Mora
Anna Fumadó Ciutat
Mireia Gascon Merlos
Anna Gutiérrez Merin
Jordi Honey-Rosés
Eloi Juvillà Ballester
Guillem Lacoma Huerva
Albert Moncada Ribera
Neus Orriols Alsina
Josep Peraire Selva
Anna Pont Armengol
Francesc Puig Esteban
Toni Riba Galí
Antonio Rosa Palomero
Isabel Sánchez Sánchez
Helena Sanz Palau
Teresa Torres Fernández
Virgínia Vallvé Càdiz
Cristina Vert Roca