A set of 99 healthy city indicators for application in urban planning and design

Abstract

Despite much interest in healthy, sustainable cities, currently they are often on the margins of urban planning and design, not the centre. Part of the reason for this is technical. Many planners are interested in designing healthier cities but wonder how to link their objectives with actions. This study develops 99 indicators for a healthy city. The basis for the development of indicators was the 11 objectives of a healthy city according to the World Health Organisation. Application of these indicators helps push healthy city objectives to the centre of urban planning and design in two ways: (I) the indicators can show gap with each objective; and (II) monitoring the indicators over time can show the performance of solutions for each objective. It is possible to explore synergies and trade-offs between the 11 objectives of healthy cities by examining the relationships between their 99 indicators. Trade-offs between healthy city objectives in some contexts might require local adjustment of these objectives. This, in turn, would require adjustment of their indicators. Thus, the set of 99 indicators can be used as a starting point in an iterative process of adapting healthy city objectives and indicators to local circumstances. K E Y W O R D S cities, healthy city, indicators, sustainable development, urban design, urban health, urban planning 1 | INTRODUCTION There are several sets of indicators for healthy cities, so why does this study develop another one? The existing sets of indicators are organised in categories of health determinants. So, if these indicators are meant to detect gaps with the objectives of healthy cities and show problem areas, it is unclear what indicators relate to what objectives. As indicators do not flow from objectives, it is also difficult to understand if some indicators are missing, less relevant or more critical. This study aims to develop healthy city indicators that flow from healthy city objectives. It involves a mixed-method study that results in a set of essential indicators. Most of indicators of this study are either refined from existing indicators or new indicators to match the objectives of healthy cities. 1.1 | Healthy city: Context and significance "A healthy city is one that puts health, social wellbeing, equity and sustainable development at the centre of local policies, strategies and programmes based on core values of the right to health and-wellbeing, peace, social justice, gender equality, solidarity, social inclusion and sustainable development and guided by

How to Achieve a Healthy City: a Scoping Review with Ten City Examples

“…The WHO program of Healthy Cities is the global, systematic culmination of these efforts [ 11 ]. WHO initiated the Healthy Cities Program in 1986 to promote health as the guiding principle of sectoral policies and urban plans in participating cities [ 4 ]. In the first series of WHO Healthy Cities Papers, a healthy city was defined as: “one that continually creates and improves its physical and social environments and expands the community resources that enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and developing to their maximum potential.” [ 12 ], 41).…”