Track 3 | PAR3. Environmental Factors and Health

Urbanism is a dominant phenomenon form of the settlement of human beings. Cities are spreading rapidly because the growth of economy is depending to the growth of urbanism and growth of economy is one of the main factors in most aspects of human being life such as settlements. At a glance on the evolution of urban development since the industrial revolution in Europe we can see in spite of the rapid growth of economy there were a rapid increasing in pollution in cities as well. Industrial cities suffered from a lot of pollution of industrial activities and dense urbanism. In 20th century increasing of the destroying of natural environment and appearing the effects of unsustainability forced the experts to rethink about the process of urbanism and industry toward the sustain development. However human being is still suffering from many kinds of pollutions and experts are continuously creating some strategies which can improve the quality of life and health in cities. Tehran is a city with nine million population and it is the second populated city in the middle east. This city is suffering from dense population, sever pollution and traffic jam for many years. The pollution of this city is so high which in several days in a year education and official activities should be closed because of sever pollution of the air. Of course, the municipality of Tehran has considered some strategies to mitigate the air pollution of Tehran but there is a long distance to decreasing the air pollution effectively. Some of these strategies include improving TOD which are taxi and bus and metro and implementing some affords to pedestrianized the city for bicycle and pedestrians. Also, there is a new legislation for increasing the toll of the roads in terrific restricted area to mitigate the pollution of this area as much as possible. In this paper I will try to explain some activities and strategies which has been done by the municipality of Tehran to achieve a low carbon city and increase the health of citizens.

The positive impact of green space on health is increasingly better and more accurate supported by scientific evidence. This knowledge and recognition reflects a broad consensus and a growing collaboration between experts from the various sectors of health, spatial planning and nature conservation. Citizens are also noticing the need for pleasant green and blue spaces in their living environment. However the presence of green space also poses health risks, for instance related with vector-borne diseases or allergies. Moreover in the context of climate change, nearby green space is simultaneously a way to mitigate negative impacts (e.g. by shading, enhancing water infiltration, flood control) as a potentially more severe source of hazards (e.g. emergence of tropical vector-borne diseases). Therefore there is a need to develop more green and blue spaces in the urban fabric as part of health prevention, while anticipating changing environmental conditions. In order to achieve these health promoting and climate proof green and blue spaces in Flanders (Northern Belgium) our research resulted in a practical manual for urban planning, design and management. First a typology of green and blue spaces was drawn up. Then an extensive literature review of the health impacts of the defined types, components and characteristics of green spaces was carried out. This resulted in a profound knowledge base. The gained insights were translated into a practical manual containing ambitions, interventions and guidelines for spatial policy, design and management targeting spatial, health and nature professionals. The manual contains an overview of the main research insights and presents an analytical framework connecting green and blue spaces with cognitive, mental, physical and social health promotion. Furthermore both general guidelines and concrete examples for strategic interventions are presented. The guidelines proposed in the manual were tested in a municipality in the fringe of Antwerp (Belgium), in close cooperation with local stakeholders, local government administration and politicians, which resulted in improvements better tailored to professionals putting the knowledge it into practice.

Urban Terrariums are public spaces of coexistence implemented through sustainable practices on small plots of municipal property - usually on land that is underutilized, vacant or without any pre-established use. As public policy, the project aims to stimulate interaction and coexistence in open space, encourage the use of sustainable practices, contribute to urban vitality and health and create a system of connected green spaces, thus contributing to the city’s environment, landscape experience and quality. This pilot scheme is in its implementation phase, and has an impact on four main pillars: urban, social, environmental, and economic. For the urban pillar, the project is based on a principle supported by the Complexity Theories of Cities, according to which, a living city requires a few very large green spaces, some of intermediate size, and many smaller ones. Such a premise supported the initiative to form a system of connected public open spaces, made possible by the creation of this small sized typology - the Urban Terrariums - in association with the medium sized squares and large parks already existing in the city. Spread systemically throughout the area, it was understood that these small areas would increase the green infrastructure of the city and constitute a powerful social and environmental asset and even treasure. By ensuring soil permeability while also requiring the use of sustainable practices in their implementation, Urban Terrariums can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to increasing the adaptive capacity of the municipality facing the negative impact of climate change. Moreover, by specifying that the activities implemented must ensure the presence of people in the spaces, the project promotes principles associated with urban health, such as walkability, living in open space, and contact with nature. These needs were highlighted by what the Covid-19 pandemic imposed. In this sense, the social impact is associated with the stimulation of coexistence and socialisation in these small open-air “vents”, together with promoting urban safety and the active participation of communities in the creation and management of the spaces. These areas can also subsidise and host community activities linked to education and environmental awareness, and are implemented through two types of partnerships with society. When the permission for use is onerous the project reflects on the economic pillar, as it encourages inserting medium and small entrepreneurs in the central perimeter of the city, which act, in return for commercial exploitation, as managers and maintainers of the space. This arrangement is made possible through a bidding process, and the amount obtained in the process is directed to implementing Urban Terrariums in the other arrangement, which envisages using a non-onerous use permission. In this case, the project must be linked only to public and community interests of a social, environmental, or cultural nature. It must also involve the third sector and the community in constructing and sharing management of the space with the public authority - especially in peripheral areas and areas with high social vulnerability. Free use permission is granted to non-profit institutions, such as NGOs, philanthropic bodies, or the local community association itself. In this way, the project promotes the sustainable management of municipal residual spaces through exempting management and maintenance costs to the public authority, and greatly contributes to the increasing the quality of life and the physical connection between urban residents as well as between them and nature.

Government agencies utilize urban heat vulnerability as a key reference indicator for determining the need for mitigation activities. urban heat vulnerability has been frequently defined as the propensity of cities to incur negative impacts in response to the extremely high temperature. It is generally agreed that vulnerable urban areas and people, such as areas with high density and elderly populations, should be given priority when allocating resources. In the context of global warming, the reduction of the extremely high temperature has become one of the most crucial issues resulting from the release of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, with the gradual stabilization of the Covid-19, it is anticipated that the world economy will recover, leading to an increase in emissions. Under this background, a more effective mix of urban heat mitigation and vulnerability will provide greater assurance in the face of such formidable obstacles. The extremely high temperature has numerous negative effects, including, but not limited to, ecological destruction, deterioration of human health, increased energy consumption, air pollution, decreased productivity, etc. Current urban heat vulnerability assessments were frequently defined as a more abstract concept that includes affected vulnerability elements (including both adaptive capacity and sensitivity) without specifying adverse impacts, making it difficult to apply at various levels and across multiple sectors of society. Instead, it initiates a number of chain reactions for cities and individuals. In this research, a new multi-sector network was designed to enable the application of multi-sector decision-making based on urban heat vulnerability. According to current scientific information, a causal network between regularly used urban heat vulnerability indicators was constructed first. To achieve a redefinition of urban heat vulnerability, the quantitative distribution of causality was summarized in seven sectors from causes to effects: urban structure, building status, population, exposure, emissions, human health, and economy. Simultaneously, state-of-the-art mitigation solutions and the new vulnerability network were merged to define the path of future deployment. Through this network, possible co-benefits and conflicts were expanded further. The results demonstrate that the abstract idea of urban thermal vulnerability can be concretized by the outcomes it generates, which will aid urban decision-makers in the future in allocating resources more rationally to meet the requirements of diverse sectors in a balanced manner. In addition, the study reveals that the economic sector has lagged behind in this research area, despite the importance of its function in the network.

European directives, and recommendations on spatial planning projects are diverse and embrace different dimensions of urban, rural, coastal and mountainous development: sustainable urban development; urban-rural relations; access to infrastructure/ public services; protection of natural/cultural heritage (Dallhammer et al. 2018). This variety of pre-conditions overwhelms municipalities and local experts calling them for a cross-sectoral approach where the elaboration of innovative or ideal solutions to current urban planning goals can’t be developed by one expert. In this contect, cooperative and experimental planning methods - bringing together ideas, visions and development concepts of interdisciplinary experts in one joint design proposal representing several perspectives - are gaining importance in recent times. In this article, Test Planning (Scholl, 2010) is illustrated as a best practice practice of a collaborative method that aims to identify multiple ideal solutions for a planning case by drawing on the expertise of many different specialists and disciplines. In 2021-2022, this procedure was carried out as part of the Interreg-Danube project AGORA. Using the quadruple-Helix innovation method and the activation of local communities, AGORA wants to reintegrate vacant buildings and land, public and private, into the productive city value system of cities in the Danube Region. The Testplanning was implemented by the Neckar-Alb Regional Association (Baden-Württemberg, Germany). The aim of the procedure was to develop different ideal planning scenarios for the construction of the first inter-municipal CO2 reduced business and industrial park in the Neckar-Alb region on the site of the former Zollernalb barracks in Meßstetten. Learnig from this case studie is useful for the different regeneration strategies and the development regarding zero carbon emission in transformation areas for the Danube Region and beyond.

Thermal comfort in cities is an influential factor for citizens’ wellbeing and life quality. Urban microclimate studies have gained popularity following increasing urbanization trends and global climate change in recent years. Urban fabric and morphology in traditional cities represent a unique pattern both spatially and climatically. However, few studies have investigated traditional cities’ urban thermal comfort conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the thermal comfort in different subspaces of Algiers Casbah’s historic urban fabric, which falls in the hot Mediterranean climate (Csa). This research evaluated the human thermal sensation by applying the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) index. The methodology used was a mixed approach, including field measurements, calculations, and a survey questionnaire. The results indicate the presence of a high-stress level during the measurement periods, and notable differences between the subspaces in January (ΔPETMax.Jan = 3.7 °C) and August (ΔPETMax.Aug = 2.2 °C). The highest discomfort was recorded in spaces with collapsed buildings, especially during the hot hours of the day. The findings also highlight a strong impact of the sky view factor on the mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) and the physiological equivalent temperature (PET). The study discusses recommendations and ways to improve the design of outdoor spaces and relieve heat stress in the streets of traditional cities. Finally, this work helps urban managers and heritage conservators in urban rehabilitation policies concerning outdoor microclimate improvement.