Cities Face ‘Severe Degradation’ Without Meaningful Climate Action, Warn Experts
European cities
Experts at the yearly Lancet International Health lecture argued that green urban planning can improve health.

Cities that fail to take meaningful climate action face a future of severe degradation with infrastructure collapse and environmental deterioration, warned climate and health experts at the yearly Academy of Medical Sciences & The Lancet International Health Lecture in London. 

“Madrid’s climate in 2050 will resemble Marrakech’s climate today. I don’t think we want that,” said Professor Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, the keynote speaker. To stave off this scenario, cities must adapt with health priorities at the forefront. “For our cities, we’re looking towards solutions that reduce CO2 emissions and also improve environment, equality and, of course, liveability and health.”

By 2050, two-thirds of the global population is expected to live in a city. Yet climate change is increasingly threatening human health in urban areas, where swaths of asphalt and concrete exacerbate rising temperatures. Climate change accounts for 37% of heat-related deaths, leaving cities especially vulnerable to heat waves and extreme heat. 

Dr Mark Nieuwenhuijsen argues that urban planners must consider health is designing the future of cities.

Preventing climate-related mortality in cities requires urban planning with an intentional health focus, commented Nieuwenhuijsen. He argued that smart urban planning reduces greenhouse gas emissions and promotes health, but only if we can break away from an “addiction” to fossil fuels.

We know that these fossil fuels are responsible for more than 5 million deaths each year because of air pollution.” Despite the growing knowledge of the health burden of fossil fuels, cities continue to sprawl “with Europe leading the way.” Fossil fuel use has led to “car-centric asphalt-dominated urban planning and extensive urban sprawl, which have detrimental effects on health,” said Nieuwenhuijsen.

Sprawling urban areas increases car dependency, even though public transport systems and active transportation – like walking and cycling – are more cost effective. 

Compact vs green cities – policies that include the best of both models

European cities categorization
Four different European city configurations vary in their health and environmental effects–with compact cities being the lowest emittors yet having the highest mortality rates compared to less dense cities.

In Europe, where many cities are growing faster than their populations, high population density has potential advantages like shortened commute times, decreased care dependency, higher energy efficiency, and decreased building material consumption.

The more compact a city, the more efficient. Yet compact cities have potential drawbacks, including higher mortality rates, traffic density, air and noise pollution, and excess heat. 

Nieuwenhuijsen presented European cities as falling into one of four groups: compact high-density cities, open low-rise medium-density cities, open lowrise low-density cities, and green low-density cities. Analyzing cities across these categories show a split: cities either fall into higher mortality but lower greenhouse emissions, or lower mortality but higher emissions.

A city like Barcelona – compact and high-density -–can expect to have a 10-15% higher mortality rate, poorer air quality, and stronger heat island effect, but lower emission, explained Nieuwenhuijsen. Overall, the researchers estimated that poor urban planning results in 20% of premature mortality. “Barcelona is a wonderful city, but it has too much air pollution, too much noise, not enough green space.”

“In contrast, greener and less densely populated cities have lower mortality rates, lower air pollution levels, and a lower urban heat island effect, but higher carbon footprints per person.”

This dichotomy – where current urban configurations are either high emitters with better health quality, or lower emitters with worse health – means that cities must implement policies that better health and reduce emissions. Nieuwenhuijsen believes that both are possible. 

Policies that lower air pollution levels and reliance on cars, and increase green space, cycling lanes, and physical activity would “substantially reduce the mortality rate,” he argued. 

Super blocks, green space, and 15-minute cities

Barcelona superblocks
Barcelona is one a several major cities implementing innovative urban planning to improve environmental and human health.

Several cities have begun implementing innovative urban models that bridge the goals of lower emissions and healthier environments, especially in how they use public land.

“A lot of our public space in our cities is, at the moment, actually used by cars. I mean, in Spain, 69% of public space is used by cars because our roads are also public space. Parking is public space. I mean, this is the kind of space that we could use in a much better way,” commented Nieuwenhuijsen.

In Paris, a vision to become a “15-minute city” – where all major destinations can be reached within 15 minutes of the home – has increased investments in bike lanes and car-free zones.

Barcelona’s “superblocks,” London’s low traffic neighborhoods, and the Vauban Freiburg car-free neighborhood are all promising solutions to reduce premature deaths and increase green spaces.

 Nieuwenhuijsen and other experts convened at the event pointed to these examples and others as evidence that urban design changes are possible. 

Several Chinese cities have also embraced the intersection of urban planning and novel technologies to prevent flooding through their Sponge city designs, commented Dr Maria Neira, the World Health Organization’s director of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health. 

“More and more we need to be prepared to work with urban planners, the architects working at the city level. And I have the impression that sometimes they are better prepared, more advanced, more engaged and more passionate, than our public health officers working at the city level,” said Neira.

“So we need to sort it out and create these very strong arguments for our public health officers as well, to push at the city level, at the Urban level, for engagement with the Urban healthy urban planning.” 

Image Credits: Michele Castrezzati, Fons Heijnsbroek, The Lancet, The Lancet.

Combat the infodemic in health information and support health policy reporting from the global South. Our growing network of journalists in Africa, Asia, Geneva and New York connect the dots between regional realities and the big global debates, with evidence-based, open access news and analysis. To make a personal or organisational contribution click here on PayPal.