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Healthy Cities, local environmental action and climate change
1School of Geography, Population and Environmental Management, Department of Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia. michael.bentley@flinders.edu.au
Health Promotion International
|June 5, 2007
Summary
Healthy Cities programs engage in local environmental actions, implicitly linking to climate change health impacts. Expanding their scope to eco-social sustainability can strengthen these connections and promote urban sustainability.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Public Health Policy
- Urban Sustainability
Background:
- Climate change poses significant adverse health impacts globally.
- Healthy Cities programs focus on local environmental actions to improve urban health.
- The explicit link between Healthy Cities initiatives and climate change health impacts requires investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between Healthy Cities' local environmental actions and climate change-related health impacts.
- To identify implicit connections and potential synergies between these two domains.
- To assess the role of Healthy Cities in addressing the health consequences of climate change.
Main Methods:
- A literature review focusing on climate change, health, and Healthy Cities programs.
- Documentary analysis of organizational reports and website content from European and Australian Healthy Cities programs.
- Semi-structured interviews with key personnel from two Healthy Cities programs.
Main Results:
- No explicit connection was found between Healthy Cities' activities and climate change health impacts.
- Many local environmental actions by Healthy Cities, such as improving air quality, are implicitly linked to climate change health.
- Healthy Cities programs can bridge local actions and climate change health impacts through networks and relationships.
Conclusions:
- Healthy Cities programs' local environmental actions have implicit relevance to climate change health impacts.
- Integrating eco-social sustainability into Healthy Cities can enhance their role in addressing climate change and urban sustainability.
- Further development of Healthy Cities frameworks can strengthen the connection between local environmental actions and climate change adaptation.
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