健康城市建设经验的国内案例综述

Rapid urbanization in China has raised significant public health concerns, particularly regarding residents' physical and mental well‐being. Effective interventions are urgently needed to address these issues.

This study aims to examine the current policy documents on building healthy cities in China. This will provide ideas for improving these policies and fostering the growth of healthy cities. The NVivo software was used to analyze policy tools and construction areas for healthy city development. Policy documents on healthy urban development issued by central government authorities from 2009 to 2023 were selected. Demand, supply, and environmental policy were the three categories of recognized policy instruments. Health services, health environment, health culture, health society, and healthy people are the five pillars of a healthy city. This paper analyzes policy documents on healthy urban development in China from two dimensions. The policy tool is on the X-axis, and the field of healthy city construction is on the Y-axis. Regarding the dimension of policy instruments, supply-based policies were used most frequently, at 62.9%. Environmental policies are implemented 26.5% of the time in conjunction with economic policies. Following this, demand-based policies have a frequency of 10.6%. From the perspective of two-dimensional shapes on policy instruments and healthy city building domains, each of the five fields of healthy city construction focuses on using three policy instruments. From the two-dimensional perspective of policy tools and healthy city building domains, each of the five fields of healthy city construction focuses on using three policy instruments. The results show that China’s current healthy city policies use a mix of policies to manage supply, environment, and demand. Most of these policies are based on supply, with high levels of government involvement. However, more policies are needed. They encourage individuals, families, communities, and social groups to participate freely in the policy process. In the future, the combination of policy tools can be quickly adjusted to enhance the effectiveness of policy implementation. At the national level, a strong commitment is made to promote healthy urban development. However, the use of policy tools across different construction sectors needs to be evenly distributed. It must be acknowledged that the effectiveness of policy tools in enhancing efficiency requires further investigation. However, the current study needs to be revised. Differences in the understanding of policy instruments may lead to different results, thus affecting the effectiveness of policy recommendations.

Objectives COVID-19 has brought challenges to the health of all mankind. It is particularly important to promote the construction of a ‘Healthy China’ and build a ‘healthy community’. The aims of this study were to construct a reasonable conceptual framework for the Healthy City concept and to assess Healthy City construction in China. Study design This study combined qualitative and quantitative research. Methods This study proposes the concept model of ‘nature–human body–Healthy City’ and accordingly constructs an evaluation index system for the construction of a Healthy City that integrates five dimensions, namely, the medical level, economic basis, cultural development, social services, and ecological environment to explore the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of Healthy City construction in China. Finally, the influencing factors of Healthy City construction patterns are explored using GeoDetector. Results (1) The pace of Healthy City construction is generally on the rise; (2) the construction of Healthy Cities exhibits significant global spatial autocorrelation and gradually increasing agglomeration. The spatial distribution of cold hotspot areas was relatively stable; (3) medical and health progress is an important factor; the level of economic development is the leading support; the endowment of resources and environment is the basic condition; public service support provides important support; and scientific and technological innovation capabilities provide technical support for the construction of a Healthy City. Conclusions The spatial heterogeneity of Healthy City construction in China is evident, and the state of spatial distribution is relatively stable. The spatial pattern of Healthy City construction is shaped by a combination of factors. Our research will provide a scientific basis for promoting the construction of Healthy Cities and helping to implement the Health China Strategy.

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BACKGROUNDS Greenspaces are indispensable for the construction of a healthy city. Research has shown that greenspaces contribute to the reduction of cardiovascular risks. However, the role of greenspace morphology in the development of a healthy city is not well understood. METHODS Our study utilized data from a cardiovascular disease screening cohort comprising 106,238 residents in Anhui Province, China, aged between 35 and 75 years. We calculated landscape indices of each participant using high-resolution land cover data to measure the greenness, fragmentation, connectivity, aggregation, and shape of greenspaces. We used a multivariate linear regression model to assess the associations between these landscape indices and triglyceride risk, and employed a structural equation model to explore the potential contributions of heatwaves and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) to this association. RESULTS Overall, triglyceride was expected to increase by 0.046% (95% CI: 0.040%, 0.052%) with a 1% increase in the percentage of built-up area. Conversely, an increase in the percentage of greenspace was associated with a 0.270% (95% CI: -0.337%, -0.202%) decrease in triglyceride levels. Furthermore, when the total greenspace was held constant, the shape, connectedness, and aggregation of greenspace were inversely correlated with triglyceride levels, with effects of -0.605% (95% CI: -1.012%, -0.198%), -0.031% (95% CI: -0.039%, -0.022%), and -0.049% (95% CI: -0.058%, -0.039%), respectively. Likewise, the protective effect of the area-weighed mean shape index was higher than that of the total amount of greenspace. The stratification results showed that urban residents benefited more from greenspace exposure. Greenspace morphology can minimize triglyceride risk by reducing pollutant and heatwaves, with aggregation having the greatest effect on reducing pollutants whereas fragmentation is more efficient at reducing heatwaves. CONCLUSION Exposure to the greenspaces morphology is associated with a reduction in triglyceride risk. The study has important practical and policy implications for early health monitoring and the spatial layout of greenspace and will provide scientific information for healthy urban planning by reducing unfavorable health consequences.

Background: Creating healthy cities promotes socio-economic development, thus, the creation of such cities has been receiving more attention from the Chinese government and the Chinese people. In the current study, the intention was to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the creation of healthy cities in Henan province in central China. Methods: We randomly selected 18 cities (7 healthy cities and 11 non-healthy cities) in middle regions of China in 2013 and established evaluation indices to evaluate the beneficial effects by horizontal and vertical comparison analyses. Results: Creating the healthy cities promoted health service, economic development, spiritual and ecological success. This was achieved by constructing cities and changing work style among the officials and establishment of patriotic health organizations. Conclusion: This is the first comprehensive, in-depth, appraisal of the healthy cities in China. We suggest that creating the healthy cities should be promoted a larger extend world-wide since it is beneficial at many levels.

The World Health Organization (WHO) articulated a vision in 1986, hoping that countries around the world would actively promote the construction and development of healthy cities. In the context of China, a paradigm shift in urban development has been triggered by the deep implementation of the Healthy China Strategy and the gradual completion of the comprehensive national spatial planning. This shift emphasizes a micro-level focus, advocating a human-centered approach to urban space exploration. In this paper, the Dingwangtai Area of Changsha City is selected as a case study. A street space health evaluation index system called “5D+” is constructed from six dimensions, namely, human perception, degree of mixing, density, distance to transit, destination accessibility, and devise. This research adopts the community as the fundamental unit of analysis, employing the Entropy-weighting TOPSIS method for the computation of indicators. The results of this study show that the Dingwangtai Area exhibits relative deficiencies in the dimensions of density, devise, and destination accessibility. Specifically, at the community level, the Ma Wang Street Community and the Fanhou Street Community have scored particularly low. In response, this paper proposes targeted measures and detailed recommendations aimed at optimizing the design of the street, enhancing the human experience, enriching functional attributes, and refining the street network. The ultimate goal is to propose a Healthy Streets Evaluation Index System based on the concept of a healthy city and to explore its relationship with healthy streets so as to provide valuable insights for the development of healthy city streets.

In order to promote sustainable construction and coordinated development of healthy cities in small and medium-sized cities, as well as to improve people's happiness, this paper takes the border city of Dandong as an example. It constructs 5 primary indexes and 28 secondary indexes, including healthy environment, healthy culture, health service, healthy society, and healthy tourism real estate. Among them, the index for healthy tourism real estate includes five secondary indicators: tourism income, number of tourists, real estate transaction volume, average selling price of commercial housing, and renovation of old residential areas. This paper analyzes the overall goal of healthy city construction in Dandong using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The relative priorities of the five first-level indicators considered are: healthy environment; healthy society; health service; healthy tourism real estate; and healthy culture. This indicates that a focus on creating a healthy environment is more important in evaluating a city's health. According to data analysis, Dandong has met national standards for creating a healthy environment and promoting a vibrant cultural scene. In addition to this achievement, the number of practicing (assistant) doctors per 1000 people in health services reached national standards in 2018, and people's living standards have gradually improved. Combining the advantages of local tourist destinations with the promotion of healthy development in the tourist industry, and balanced growth in real estate development as contributed to the creation of a positive social environment conducive to good health.

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Background and purpose With the promotion of the World Health Organization, China has also launched a healthy city construction campaign. However, healthy city construction needs to formulate a series of policies. How can the current healthy city policy in China be further improved to provide a policy basis for healthy city construction? Materials and methods Collected here are policy texts from the Central People’s Government and local government of the People’s Republic of China on healthy cities from 2009 to 2023. This paper adopts the policy tool analysis method to design a two-dimensional analysis framework of the “policy tool-construction domain.” There are three types of policy tools: demand-oriented, supply-oriented, and environmental-oriented. The field of healthy city construction is based on five fields defined by WHO: healthy population, health service, healthy environment, healthy culture, and healthy society. The policy text was coded and analyzed by Nvivo software. Results According to the coding analysis of policy texts, among the three types of policy tools, supply-oriented policies account for 60.5%, environmental policies account for 29.1%, and demand-oriented policies account for 10.4%. In the five areas of healthy city construction, healthy environment accounted for 23.7%, healthy society accounted for 12.3%, health services accounted for 39.1%, healthy population accounted for 13%, and health culture accounted for 11.9%. From the two-dimensional perspective of policy tools and the field of healthy city construction, the five fields of healthy city construction have different emphases on the application of three different types of policy tools. Conclusion Currently, the supply-oriented policy, the demand-oriented policy, and the environmental policy tools are used comprehensively in healthy city construction in China. The proportion of supply-oriented policy is high, which emphasizes the government’s intervention and neglects the participation of individuals and social organizations. The use of policy tools is not balanced in the five different areas of healthy city construction, which to some extent limits the effect of policy implementation and strengthens the overall effect of the healthy city construction policy.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council released a plan in October 2016 entitled “Outline of the Plan of ‘Healthy China 2030’.”The objective outlined in the plan was to “integrate health into the whole process of urban-rural planning, construction and governance, and promote the harmonious development between cities and human health.”As an indispensable part of building a healthy China, the healing environment concept has proven integral to the physiological and psychological health of human beings. The early achievements made in the psychological science and rehabilitation fields have gradually impacted landscape architecture, urban planning and architecture. In modern high-density city settlements, particularly since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the importance of healing environments has been highlighted. In recent years, scholars have expanded on and deepened the research by investigating blue-green spaces at different levels, as well as the natural elements of a built environment. They have also attempted to utilize experimental means wherever possible, making remarkable progress in the process. The editorial department of this journal organized an academic conversation on the topic, Healthy Cities and Healing Environments. Six scholars from different backgrounds were invited to take part in a focused, yet diverse, discussion. Based on the relationship between green and health on the urban scale, Li Shuhua explained that cities are places where humans gather and live and, thus, such places continue to develop with the evolution of our species. An ideal city should conform to people,s collective desire for a better life. It should not only meet the needs associated with sustainable ecological development but also provide people with an appropriate living environment in favor of human health. The Green Healthy City Theory provides an ideal perspective toward alleviating current “Urban diseases”and “Urban population health issues”. The Otemachi Forest in the center of Tokyo represents a practical pioneering case of the Green Healthy City Theory. Based on relations between humans, nature and cities, the current study traced the development of ideal cities in Europe, America, Japan and China, and discussed the principles and constituent elements that should be adhered to during practical construction of a green healthy city. There are evident differences among different races in terms of the COVID-19 infection rate in the United States (US), which reflect health justice issues. Therefore, Jiang Bin et al. hypothesized that such differences among races are significantly reduced in areas where green space coverage is high. Taking control over variables covering socioeconomic characteristics and chronic diseases, the current study measured the correlation between racial differences in the COVID-19 infection rate and green space coverage using a multi-linear regression model. The findings from the study revealed that, at the county level, higher green space coverage could significantly reduce racial differences of COVID-19 infection rate. Further, four green space types were found to contribute to this reduction. Finally, an encircling mechanism and five core mechanisms were established to interpret such correlation. Du Hongwu et al. determined that it is extremely important that high-density urban scenery meet people,s restorative needs, which were highlighted during the COVID-19 outbreak. Two types of sky gardens, which are grown outside well-designed office buildings and residential buildings, both promote restoration. However, their spatial morphologies, influential factors and action mechanisms differ. The spatial locations , combinations and relations between spaces should be arranged in a way that increases the restorative benefits of sky gardens. Toward improving the quality of sky gardens, the influential factors impacting the restorative benefits of sky gardens should be explored further. These include visual accessibility, the spatial level of sky gardens and the green view rates. It is also important to establish supportive environments, to strengthen multifunctionality, to diversify activity types and to increase participation and usage rates.Zheng et al. believed that green contact in cities is crucial for the promotion of urban residents, health. In practical projects, full consideration to functions and the use of streets has to be given to such green contact in order that the associated health benefits are realized. Combining the street reconstruction for a park city in Chengdu, Zheng et al. investigated the walking and business-facility use preferences of 40 respondents in specific street scenes as well as the green space alongside streets for the remainder of the behavioral experiment. Moreover, their first impressions and sub-dimensional evaluation findings of the street environment were collected. At the same time, eye positions of respondents in their relevant choices or evaluations were recorded using an SMI Redn Professional desktop eye tracker. The results of the study provide support for decision-making in the design of healthy streets. Long Hao attempted to review and elaborate on the specific applications of evidence-based design in the design and construction of rehabilitation gardens. He believed that as an important psychological and physiological rehabilitation space in CCRC-type aging communities, rehabilitation gardens should be implemented to improve functions of gardens in psychological counseling based on evidence-based design. The psychological health, depression and anxiety of the aged residents are becoming increasingly prominent issues as the closed management in medical and nursing institutions for the aged is becoming increasingly common as a result of COVID19. It is expected that the current study will provide reference points and assistance in thinking about rehabilitation garden design into the future and offering a feasible psychological health space for CCRC-type aging communities. Focusing on the age-friendly city framework of the World Health Organization (WHO), Yuan Xiaomei proposed the concept of a “community environment of health management for the aged.”This concept helps to establish the key technological system of “the aged+environment+life”from the perspectives of “comfort and safety”, “encouragement in activities”, “intimacy to nature”and “interaction.”She aims to integrate rehabilitation therapy into daily outdoor activities for the aged and provide them with an effective environmental solution to their health-and life-related issues. In the current study, the health performance and application potential of relevant technologies were described through their combination with the findings of the preliminary research and evidence-based practices put forward by the research team led by Professor Yuan Xiaomei.

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While the health benefits of urban green spaces (UGS) are widely recognized, research often isolates the optimization of UGS spatial patterns from the analysis of population exposure effects. To bridge this gap, this study proposes a Subject-Object Integrated (SOI) model that conceptualizes the complete pathway from accessibility to effective exposure. We operationalize it as the 15-15 rule, requiring residents to reach a UGS within a 15-min walk and obtain at least 15 min of effective exposure. Using Shanghai as a case study, we quantified the UGS exposure potential at community level, evaluated supply-demand relationship, and simulated staged UGS construction under 15-15 rule. Our results indicate that approximately 80% of communities and their populations currently meet the 15-15 rule, with compliance rates decreasing from the urban center to the exurban areas. Supply-demand analysis further reveals distinct spatial patterns: the urban center shows high demand-supply consistency but relatively low average UGS provision; suburb face severe supply deficits; and exurban areas possess relatively abundant yet underutilized UGS resources. The staged construction simulation suggests that adding 499 UGS units (693.78 ha), primarily in suburb and exurban zones, would raise the compliance rate to 99.8% in a basic satisfaction stage. Subsequent priorities for quality enhancement diverge. The urban center requires expansion of existing UGS, whereas suburb and exurbs need more newly planned UGS. Collectively, the SOI model and the 15-15 rule provide a theoretically grounded and practically operational approach for environmental management in healthy-city goals.

There are three key elements in the emergence of infectious diseases, namely, sources of infection, transmission routes, and susceptible  populations. Early urban public health campaigns were committed to eliminating the source of infection by improving the urban physical environment. In recent years, the Healthy Cities movement has focused on promoting the physical activity of residents to strengthen the health and well-being of susceptible people. Nevertheless, there is often a lack of effective training in cutting off the routes of infectious diseases. In the present study,  the current “epidemic war”in China was analyzed, and the “isolation-treatment-recovery”response measures in Chinese cities for epidemic prevention and control were summarized. In addition, the role of administrative and spatial units at the “city-district-community”levels, as well as lessons  learned to improve the Healthy Cities movement, were discussed. It concludes that a better healthy city requires three perspectives of thinking: The  first is how to effectively control the epidemic in a sudden outbreak. The second is adopting humanistic thinking by focusing on life support and the  quality of life of residents in the context of the long-term impacts of the outbreak. The third is to strengthen spatial attribute thinking as part of the  healthy city indicator system. Therefore, the idea of creating a healthy city epidemic prevention spatial unit system was proposed. At the city level,  a “city-district-community”multi-level linkage is needed to strengthen epidemic prevention capacity and establish a resource distribution mechanism. At the community level, on a spatial scale that satisfies basic isolation and epidemic prevention management requirements, it is necessary to  establish a support system that serves basic human life to ensure the health and well-being of residents during epidemic control.

Synergies between urban planning and public health were synthesized a decade ago by the Lancet Commission’s article “Shaping Cities for Health: Complexity and the Planning of Urban Environments in the 21st Century.” Since then, innovative research projects, urban planning projects, and accumulated experience from the World Health Organization Healthy Cities project confirm that transdisciplinary contributions enable the achievement of core principles of healthy cities. This article clarifies important differences between the content, scope, and outcomes of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects about public health and urban planning. It explains why transdisciplinary contributions are more likely to bridge the applicability gap between knowledge and practice in response to persistent urban health challenges; notably, they transgress the boundaries of public health and medical science; they prioritize political action in both the formal and informal construction sectors; and they include citizens, community associations, and private enterprises as partners in consortia for concerted action. This article proposes a radical shift from incremental, reactive, and corrective approaches in planning for urban health to proactive and anticipative contributions using backcasting and alternative scenarios that prioritize health. The article uses the case of public green spaces in planning for urban health. It identifies the shortcomings of many empirical studies that are meant to promote and sustain health before describing and illustrating an alternative way forward.

In order to effectively identify the shortcomings and potential health risks in the construction of healthy cities and achieve sustainable development, relevant improvement strategies have been formulated. According to the National Healthy City Evaluation Index System, with the concept of “Making improvements is more important than reaching standards”, the healthy city construction levels of the first batch of 13 cities in East China were evaluated by combining entropy weight and linear coefficient weighting from the five dimensions of environment, population, society, service, and culture, based on the data of statistical yearbooks, bulletins, and government websites. The results show that Suzhou, Jiading, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Tongxiang, and Zhenjiang are in the first-grade group, Xiamen, Yantai, Jinan, and Weihai are in the second-grade group, and Yichun and Ma’anshan are in the third-grade group. There is also more significant heterogeneity in the healthy environment indicator among the 13 cities; at the same time, there are specific differences in the healthy culture indicator, and there are slight differences in the indicators of healthy population, society, and service. The study reveals the gaps and problems in the construction of healthy cities. It proposes constructive ideas for promoting follow-up improvement of “making up for shortcomings and strengthening the weaknesses”.

The smart healthy elderly care city takes the integration of healthy elderly care resources with information technology as its basic feature, and innovates the healthy elderly care service model to accurately serve the elderly. In recent years, all parts of the country have gradually promoted the construction of smart, healthy and elderly care cities, which have achieved good results, but also face many problems. In order to evaluate the current situation of the construction of smart healthy elderly care cities, the author has built a smart healthy elderly care city evaluation index system based on the research results and standards of smart city and healthy elderly care city evaluation index system. The evaluation index system of smart health care city involves five fields, including smart health care infrastructure, smart health care environment, smart health care economy and smart health care services, which can comprehensively and systematically reflect the construction of smart health care city. Taking Foshan City, Guangdong Province as an example, this paper empirically analyzes the current situation and problems of the construction of a smart healthy elderly care city using the data from 2020-2021, and then puts forward high-quality development strategies for the construction of a smart healthy elderly care city in Foshan.

Abstract It is of great significance both in theory and in practice to propose an efficient approach to approximating visual walkability given urban residents' growing leisure needs. Recent advancements in sensing and computing technologies provide new opportunities in this regard. This paper first proposes a conceptual framework for understanding street visual walkability and then employs deep learning technologies to segment and extract physical features from Baidu Map Street View (BMSV) imagery using the case of Shenzhen City in China. Guided by this framework, four indicators are calculated based on the segmented imagery and further integrated into the visual walkability index (VWI), whose reliability is validated through manual interpretation and a subjective scoring experiment. Our results show that deep learning technologies achieve higher accuracy in segmenting street view imagery than the traditional K-means clustering algorithm and support vector machine algorithm. Moreover, the developed VWI is effective to measure visual walkability, and it presents great heterogeneity across streets within Shenzhen. Spatial regression further identifies that significant social inequalities are associated with neighborhood visual walkability. According to the findings, implications and suggestions on planning the healthy city are proposed. The methodological procedure is reduplicative and can be applied to other unfeasible or challenging cases.

Many cities face health issues that result from ineffective urban planning strategies. The chances of doing exercises in sportive venues implicate public health and citizen quality of life. With the advent of the geo-big data era, it is crucial to explore the spatial pattern of sports facilities to reflect urban health issues. This study aims to decode the street-based spatiality of gyms (one prevailing type of sportive venues) from a comprehensive perspective by both geometric methods (i.e., segment streets) and topological analytics in the context of complexity science (i.e., complex network derived from the topology of natural streets). We found that: (1) gyms are spatially clustered and distributed unevenly; (2) community-to-gym walkability fits the power-law with a heavy-tailed distribution at the 10-min and 20-min temporal scales; (3) the model for the street connectivity and the multi-distance reachability of gyms is with high polynomial fitting goodness. This article is conducive to strategies-making of healthy city planning and the further optimization of urban spatial structure.

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Abstract Urban China is now faced with the considerable challenge of sustainability, given that it has the highest incidence of excessive alcohol drinking (EAD)-related deaths worldwide. The current study presents a conceptual framework explaining the geographic disparities in EAD; and explores the associations between EAD and the neighborhood physical environment and sociodemographic characteristics across the districts within Wuhan, China. Four regression models are built to verify related hypotheses and examine the role of alcohol outlets accessibility, transport convenience and social deprivation. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) is employed to further explore the spatial nonstationary associations. Our results demonstrate that similarities and differences exist between China and other nations in regard to the associations between EAD and related neighborhood characteristics. In China, the neighborhood physical environment strongly influences the occurrence of EAD, while social deprivation is not a significant contributor. EAD is more likely to be found in neighborhoods with greater alcohol outlet accessibility, and on-premise alcohol outlets represented by restaurants contribute much more than off-premise alcohol outlets. In addition, the relationship between alcohol outlet accessibility and EAD varies across regions in strength but is the same in nature. Based on these findings, several suggestions are provided for healthy city planning.

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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.

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Each year, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) computes the Global Liveability Index and determines the most liveable cities around the world. Vienna, Austria, was ranked by the EIU as the most liveable city worldwide in 2018 and 2019. However, the relationship between a liveable as well as healthy and environmentally-just city has not been previously explored. To explore whether the most liveable city is also a healthy and environmentally-just one, we estimated the premature mortality burden related to non-compliance with international exposure level recommendations for physical activity (PA), air pollution (PM2.5 and NO2), road traffic noise, green space and heat for Vienna, as well as its distribution by socioeconomic status (SES). We applied the Urban and TranspOrt Planning Health Impact Assessment (UTOPHIA) methodology and estimated the annual mortality, life expectancy (LE) and economic impact of non-compliance with exposure guidelines for the Viennese adult population ≥ 20 years. We compared current with recommended exposure levels, quantified the association between exposures and mortality and calculated attributable health impact fractions. Eight percent of premature mortality (i.e. 1239 deaths, 95% CI: 679-1784) was estimated to be attributable to non-compliance with the recommended exposure levels. Seventy-six percent of the attributable premature mortality was due to PM2.5 exposure and insufficient PA. Non-compliance also resulted in an average of 199 days of LE lost for the adult population (95% CI: 111-280) and an economic impact of 4.6 (95% CI: 2.5-6.7) billion 2015€ annually. Overall, residents of lower SES neighbourhoods faced higher risk of premature mortality due to higher exposure to NO2, road traffic noise, heat and less green space. Despite high liveability standards according to EIU definition, a considerable premature mortality burden was attributable to non-compliance with exposure recommendations, and socioeconomic inequalities were estimated. Although the exposure attributable mortality burden was lower than in other European cities and local Viennese policies favour the reduction of motorized traffic, alongside the promotion of active and public transport and urban greening, there is room for further alignment of liveability, environmental health and justice objectives.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a new coronavirus discovered in 2019. WHO declared COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 as a pandemic that the detection level of cases changed daily, and it can track almost in real-time. This paper used a narrative literature review to address issues of urban quality and lack of exercise. The specific aim was to discuss the concept of a healthy city, indicate a new urban model, and advocate for the increased use of bicycles, outdoor gym/outdoor exercise, walking to reducing pollution, and improving physical, psychological, and social fitness. A healthy city can improve residents’ health by improving conditions of life to face COVID-19 pandemics. It needs the local capacity to prevent the spread of the diseases and design public health concepts concerning the built environment and contemporary towns in a new urban model. Dialogue opportunities in public health can provide essential guidance for designers (architects and town planners), decision-makers, public health experts, and health agencies locally, promoting the actions and policies to transform the city into a healthier neighborhood and salutogenesis.

It is helpful for collaboration if professionals from the field of health and social welfare and the field of city planning are aware of each other’s concepts of what a healthy living environment entails and what its components are. This study examined perceptions about creating a healthy living environment of professionals from these two fields, as well as the differences between them. We recruited 95 professionals from Nijmegen, the Netherlands who worked in the fields of health, social welfare and city planning in governmental and non-governmental capacities. We used the concept mapping method to collect and analyse their thoughts on healthy living environments. Participants first submitted statements on this subject in a brainstorming session, using an online mapping tool. Then they sorted these statements and rated them on priorities and opportunities within urban planning processes. During the brainstorm, 43 professionals generated 136 statements. After the elimination of duplicates, 92 statements were individually sorted by 32 professionals. Concept mapping software was used to create an overall map, in which the statements were sorted into ten clusters. Each of these clusters represented one of the main features of a healthy living environments. After 36 participants rated these statements, it emerged that professionals from both fields agreed on priorities and opportunities for the clusters ‘Spatial quality’ and ‘Conducive to exercise’. Professionals also agreed on which three clusters had the fewest priorities and possibilities (‘Promotes personal wellbeing’, ‘Encourages healthy choices’, ‘Conducive to social connections’). We found that professionals in health and social welfare and city planning have similar views concerning the most and least important features of a healthy living environment in urban planning process. This could indicate that the differences between the two fields may be more nuanced and specific than previously thought. This knowledge offers perspectives for professionals to strengthen their collaboration and to come to a joint result in urban planning projects.

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Recently, there has been a growing interest in exploring the relationship between walkability and various aspects such as health, urban planning, and sustainability. This interest stems from the acknowledgement of the impact of walking on issues such as obesity, pollution, and other diseases, even if these are only weakly correlated. This scoping review was carried out to shed light on the link between walkability and health. The main objectives of this review are to describe the tools used to evaluate walkability, to highlight the variations in measurement methods, and to offer a critical evaluation of these tools. The final analysis includes a review of the most recent and comprehensive studies and online resources. Finally, an evaluation of the tools was carried out, with a focus on urban and architectural expertise relating to design, functions, and activities in public spaces, analysing the few available bibliographic references that correlate walkability with measured health outcomes using validated tools and health information flow. Neighbourhood walkability is influenced by the availability of functional amenities, activities, and safety. Failure to consider its importance on human health could lead to urban social inequalities and thus failure to create salutogenic cities, which could have major implications in terms of public health.

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ABSTRACT The continuous reduced access to blue–green spaces caused by climate change as well as the COVID-19 pandemic – which led to many being far away from nature, and narrowing the range of crowd activities and interactions – has resulted in mental illness, induced healthy and social problems. Mental illness has become one of the most serious health problems faced by humans. How can we curb mental illness and achieve close contact between people and nature? Blue–green space plays an important role. This study analyzes the characteristics of restorative environments of blue–green spaces on people’s psychology by factor analysis, expert evaluation and photo measurement methods. From the perspective of people’s health recovery experience and psychological response to the environment, the subjective measurement of psychological environment factors and restorative effect of physical factors are explored. Furthermore, this study also reveals people’s preferences for different landscapes and explores positive and negative impact on mental health restoration. Study plots are classified into four types, people prefer the landscape space which is spacious with prominent visual focus, harmonious colors and suitable blue and green viewing rate. This study puts forward space optimization strategies to improve blue–green space for green, low-carbon and sustainable cities.

In the context of rapid urbanization and increasing awareness of environmental justice, ensuring equitable access to high-quality park services is crucial for promoting healthy lifestyles and sustainable urban development. This study investigates park equity in Wuhan, China, by developing a comprehensive evaluation index system that incorporates park quality and considers the heterogeneity of park demand among different population groups, particularly older adults. Using multi-source big data and spatial analysis, this study examines the patterns of park supply and demand and explores the causes of mismatch between them. The results find that the further away from the city center one is, the lower the park supply and demand value. The difference is that the decrease in demand is more moderate relative to supply, and the demand is less affected by the natural environment and urban construction. The findings reveal that park accessibility is closely related to urban infrastructure development and natural resources, with central urban communities enjoying better park supply and quality than peripheral communities. Additionally, the study uncovers that the elderly comprise a vulnerable group that needs more park services in urban China. There are still 28.25% of communities with an unmet demand for parks. The overall goal of the paper is to come up with policy recommendations for optimizing city park equity. It is found that the relieving strategies of park equity are different and should be based on local context, such as enhancing existing park service capacity in urban centers and prioritizing new park development in underserved suburban areas.

In the context of building healthy cities and enhancing the quality of historic blocks, assessing their health levels is of critical importance. However, research on health assessments of historic blocks remains limited, and existing evaluation frameworks often struggle to balance comprehensiveness with contextual specificity. Using the blocks along Ciqi Street, Yongqing Street, and Yongtai Street in Shedian Town, Nanyang City, as a case study, this study develops a health assessment system comprising five primary indicators, including block safety, block comfort, block ecological nature, block convenience, and block cultural nature, along with eleven secondary indicators and seventeen tertiary indicators. Based on SHP data, street view imagery, meteorological data, DSM data, and other relevant datasets and employing multiple analytical methods, including ArcGIS, semantic segmentation, and Grasshopper, a health assessment of the target blocks is conducted. The results indicate that the target blocks face significant safety issues, with health challenges primarily associated with their internal built environments. Finally, the study proposes three measures for quality improvement, providing references for related research and the renewal of historic blocks.

With the rapid aging of the global population, China’s old urban areas, especially historical urban areas, are facing a more severe aging situation. In the context of heritage protection, the development and regeneration of historical urban areas are restricted. They usually face the aging and decay of housing, infrastructure, and public service facilities, which are harmful neighborhood environmental factors to the health development of older adults. Since the World Health Organization adopted “healthy aging” as a development strategy to deal with population aging, the mental health of older adults has become an increasingly important public health issue. A growing body of research demonstrates the positive impact of blue spaces (including oceans, rivers, lakes, wetlands, ponds, etc.) on older adults’ mental health, yet evidence on the potential of blue spaces in a historical environment to promote mental health among older adults remains limited. Therefore, exploring the neighborhood impact of blue space on the mental health of older adults has become a new entry point to provide an age-friendly environment for older adults in the ancient city. This study uses multi-source data such as community questionnaire data, remote sensing images, urban street view images, and environmental climate data of the ancient city of Suzhou, to extract a variety of blue space quantitative indicators, and uses the hierarchical linear model and mediation effect model to explore the neighborhood impact of blue space exposure in the historical environment on older adults, to try to explore the impact path and formation mechanism behind it. The result is that exposure to neighborhood blue space in Suzhou’s historic urban area is significantly related to the mental health of older adults. Additionally, neighborhood blue space exposure improves the mental health of older adults by relieving stress and promoting physical activities and social interaction. The health effects of neighborhood blue space exposure vary among elderly groups with different age and income stratifications, and have a greater impact on the healthy lifestyle and mental health of older adults in younger and lower-income aging groups. Based on a multidisciplinary theoretical perspective, this study enriches the empirical literature on the impact of blue space on the mental health of older adults in historical environments and provides a scientific basis for the regeneration planning of “healthy neighborhoods” and “healthy aging” in historical urban areas.

Abstract An appropriate evaluation method plays an important role in the Healthy City plan and helps to improve urban health. Due to a lack of uniform criteria of evaluation, it’s the first time to compare the feasibility and effectiveness of various methods in healthy city, including the comprehensive index method, rank-sum ratio method (RSR), entropy method, integrated RSR, and integrated entropy method. The comparison was conducted on Friedman chi-square test, Spearman correlation, consistency test, and one-way analysis of variance, with the level of 0.05 in two-sides for statistical significance. Due to a high consistency (92.90 %) with the principal component analysis and actual circumstance, the comprehensive index method was compared as a reference. Compared with the comprehensive index method, the consistency rate of RSR, entropy, integrated RSR, and integrated entropy method was separately 78.60 %, 57.10 %, 71.40 %, and 42.90 %. The Kappa value of them was respectively 0.625 (P

Abstract A block is an urban construction of land surrounded by roads and its internal buildings and environment. It is an essential element of modern cities and the most direct way to perceive the urban living environment. The thermal comfort of a block is a crucial indicator for building a healthy and comfortable urban life. This study examined Dalian, a cold-region city in China, to put forward research on thermal comfort improvement strategies. In this paper, four typical blocks were selected to simulate the microclimate by ENVI-met, and the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was calculated. Through the simplified model, the thermal comfort building strategy suitable for Dalian was explored, and the effectiveness was verified. The results show that direct solar radiation and wind speed are the critical factors for the thermal comfort of the settlements residents. The building orientation, sunshine spacing coefficient, and building layout will affect the thermal environment of the block through these two factors. The outdoor thermal environment in Dalian can be improved by adjusting the orientation of buildings away from the traditional south direction, increasing the sunshine spacing coefficient, dislocating buildings, or adopting a peripheral-type building layout. This study can provide a scientific basis for building healthy and comfortable urban living environments and block development and renovation decisions.

This paper explores the construction, development, and socio-economic implications of sports parks in Yunnan Province, China, aiming to foster sustainable recreational experiences. Through an in-depth analysis of three emblematic cases—Kunming Cuihu Sports Park, Dali Ancient City Sports Park, and Lijiang Yulong Sports Park—it elucidates the integration of sports, leisure, and culture within these spaces. Emphasizing characteristic construction, facility maintenance, guided tours, and emergency management, the study underscores their pivotal roles in enhancing visitor experiences. The research delves into the multifaceted impact of sports parks on social development, including the promotion of healthy lifestyles, community cohesion, and local economic growth. By extrapolating insights from these cases, the paper offers valuable references for the planning and management of sports parks in diverse regions. Additionally, it outlines future directions for research, advocating for expanded data collection, nuanced understanding of cultural differences in recreational demands, and leveraging information technology to elevate service quality. These suggestions are poised to drive continuous progress in the field of sports parks, aligning with the evolving needs and aspirations of communities for an enhanced quality of life.

Thailand’s rapid demographic aging presents significant challenges for municipal governance, particularly in ensuring accessible and inclusive urban environments. Existing Healthy City and Age-Friendly frameworks provide domain-based guidance but lack structured mechanisms for measuring institutional integration of accessibility principles. This study develops and field-validates a Universal Design–Based Maturity Index designed to assess the degree of institutional embedding of accessibility within municipal Healthy City governance. The instrument was constructed through synthesis of WHO Healthy City principles, Thailand’s national Healthy City criteria, and the WHO Age-Friendly City framework, integrated with over two decades of fieldbased Universal Design implementation experience. Content validity was assessed by five interdisciplinary experts, yielding an overall mean score of 4.85 (S-CVI/Ave ≈ 0.97). A 12-month pilot implementation in Ladsawai Municipality evaluated definitional clarity, administrative feasibility, and compatibility with planning and budgeting systems. Following refinement, the index was adopted under formal Memoranda of Understanding with five municipalities across five provinces. Findings indicate that the staged maturity ladder enables differentiation between activity-based interventions and institutional policy integration. While longitudinal outcome evaluation remains ongoing, preliminary evidence suggests cross-context applicability within decentralized governance systems. The proposed index operationalizes Universal Design as a measurable governance variable, providing municipalities with a structured pathway toward inclusive Healthy City development.

China’s rapid urbanization has given rise to the phenomenon of “urban villages”, which are often regarded as chaotic fringe areas in traditional studies. With the rise of the concept of resilient cities, the value of urban villages as potential carriers of sustainable development has been re-examined. This study adopted research methods such as field investigations, in-depth interviews, and conceptual sampling. By analyzing the interlinked governance relationship between Xiamen City and the urban villages in the Bay Area, aspects such as rural housing improvement, environmental governance, residents’ feedback, geographical pattern, and spatial production were evaluated. A field investigation was conducted in six urban villages within the four bays of Xiamen. A total of 45 people in the urban villages were interviewed, and the spatial status of the urban villages was recorded. This research found that following: (1) Different types of urban villages have formed significantly differentiated role positionings under the framework of regional governance. Residential community types XA and WL provide long-term and stable living spaces for migrant workers in Xiamen; tourism development types DS, HX, BZ, and HT allow the undertaking of short-term stay tourists and provide tourism services. (2) These urban villages achieve the construction of their resilience through resisting risks, absorbing policy resources, catering to the expansion of urban needs, and co-construction in coordination with planning. The multi-cultural inclusiveness of urban villages and their transformation led by cultural shifts have become the driving force for their sustainable development. Through the above mechanisms, urban villages have become the source of resilience and sustainability of healthy cities and provide a model reference for high-density urban construction.

Enhancing ecological resilience and human well-being is key to achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within the framework of the Healthy China strategy, this paper treated China’s Healthy City pilot (HCP) policy as a quasi-natural experiment and systematically investigated its impact on ecological resilience, the underlying transmission mechanisms, and heterogeneity. Based on panel data from 286 prefecture-level cities spanning 2011–2023 and employing a spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model, the empirical results showed that: Spatial correlation analysis indicated a significantly positive spatial correlation in urban ecological resilience across Chinese cities. The baseline regression results showed that the HCP policy significantly improved urban ecological resilience, with the resilience index increasing by 18.1% on average compared with non-pilot cities. The SDID results indicated that the policy generated positive spatial spillover effects on urban ecological resilience, and that policy effects were influenced by geographically neighboring cities. Mechanism tests showed that the Healthy City Pilot policy significantly promoted urban technological innovation and facilitated the transformation of the energy consumption structure, both of which played important roles in enhancing urban ecological resilience. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that the policy had stronger effects in eastern and northeastern cities than in central and western cities, and that large cities benefited more than small and medium-sized cities, mainly due to differences in regional location, development foundations, environmental governance capacity and policy implementation conditions.

Sustainable urban planning has become increasingly imperative in addressing environmental challenges and promoting resilient, livable cities globally. a comparative study of green city initiatives across different regions, examining strategies, successes, and challenges in integrating sustainability principles into urban development. Key focus areas include sustainable infrastructure, green spaces, energy efficiency, waste management, and community engagement. By analyzing case studies and current practices, this study aims to identify best practices and lessons learned from leading green cities, highlighting innovative approaches that enhance urban sustainability and quality of life for residents. Ultimately, the research underscores the importance of holistic planning approaches and collaborative governance in achieving sustainable urban futures amidst urbanization pressures and climate change impacts.

The paper examines community-based approaches to healthy aging via a comparative case study of two Japanese communities: Ogimi Village in Okinawa, a traditional Blue Zone, and Asao Ward in Kawasaki City, an emerging urban model. Drawing on established theoretical frameworks including the Social Capital Theory, the Socio-Ecological Model, and the Self-Determination Theory, the Integrated Community Healthy Aging Model is developed. It provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how communities create environments that support healthy aging across diverse contexts. The study employed qualitative fieldwork methods including semi-structured interviews with 60 residents aged 65 and above, equally divided between the two study sites. Participants were stratified across three age groups: 65-74 years, 75-84 years, and 85 years and above. Interview protocols explored daily routines, social relationships, community participation, health practices, and perceptions of aging. All interviews were conducted in Japanese, recorded with permission, and transcribed for analysis. Field observations totaling 40 hours per site allowed direct observation of community activities, environmental features, and social interactions. Document analysis of municipal records, program evaluations, and demographic data provided institutional perspectives on healthy aging initiatives. Via systematic qualitative analysis, four key dimensions contributing to healthy aging were identified: social connectivity, cultural practices, environmental support, purpose/meaning. The social connectivity dimension encompasses bonding capital via close relationships, bridging capital through diverse connections, and linking capital through institutional resources. The cultural practices dimension recognizes how shared meanings and traditions guide social interaction and create community cohesion. The environmental support dimension addresses how physical spaces shape opportunities for healthy behaviors and social engagement. The purpose and meaning dimension acknowledges importance of continued growth and contribution throughout aging. The findings reveal that while traditional Blue Zones benefit from long-established social structures such as the moai mutual support groups in Ogimi, urban communities cultivate similar outcomes via innovative responses to environmental challenges. The Asao Ward case demonstrates how topographical barriers were transformed into opportunities for community building via the Sakamichi Support Network, which facilitates mutual assistance among residents navigating steep hillsides. This innovation suggests environmental challenges need not be barriers to healthy aging and may actually catalyze community solidarity when addressed creatively. The research contributes to aging theory by integrating Eastern concepts such as ikigai and yuimaru with Western theoretical frameworks, demonstrating how individual purpose and collective responsibility intersect to support well-being in later life. The model emphasizes dynamic interactions among four dimensions, recognizing community-based healthy aging emerges from mutually reinforcing processes. This integrated approach offers transferable principles for global healthy aging initiatives, suggesting successful aging is fundamentally a collective achievement emerging from daily practices, relationships, and environments that communities create together. The findings challenge assumptions that ideal aging environments should eliminate all challenges, instead demonstrating how shared adversity can strengthen community bonds and promote active engagement when appropriate supports are in place.

Abstract Issue The WHO Healthy Cities Network supports cities in implementing healthy public policies through a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach. In France, the lack of a clear legal framework limits the integration of HiAP into policymaking. Facing growing financial constraints and increasing awareness of the impact of public policies on health, French Healthy Cities seek to strengthen HiAP at the local level. Problem As part of the European JA PreventNCD project, the French Healthy Cities Network (FHCN) launched a working group (WG) to identify barriers and enablers to HiAP implementation in municipalities. Elected officials and technicians from 44 cities of the FHCN joined the WG, discussing and sharing experiences and best practices around four themes: Governance; Coordination; Processes and Tools; Resources. Ten online meetings are organised, from Sept. 2024 to early 2026, with sessions recorded and analysed to identify key factors for local HiAP implementation. Results Four meetings have been held so far, with an average of 50 participants. Preliminary results highlight several obstacles and enablers to HiAP implementation in municipalities. Barriers are lack of recognition of health services, limited visibility of health-related actions in non-health sectors, fragmented and insecure funding, siloed approaches, insufficient human and financial resources. Main enablers include strong political commitment, joint budget planning, shared health determinants approaches, intersectoral governance bodies, health referent networks within municipalities, and clear coordination mechanisms. Lessons Although public health is traditionally a state responsibility, cities are key actors due to their close connection to communities. Sharing tools and practices is essential to strengthen HiAP locally, despite political shifts and budget constraints. The HiAP approach offers a chance to enhance public health action, promoting collaboration, breaking silos, and maximizing co-benefits. Key messages • The Health in All Policies approach is an opportunity for municipalities to address legal and financial challenges and enhance their public health actions at the local level. • Sharing tools, practices, and experiences among cities is essential to finding innovative solutions and promoting residents’ health.

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One of the main objectives of contemporary society and international research is to improve the physical and psychological health and well-being of the population, especially within the urban space. An effective approach to address this complex issue must necessarily be trans-disciplinary, and must be framed in the broader perspective of the Science of Sustainability, in particular the Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development, as a frame of reference. The study shows the first results of research, in terms of methodology and qualitative analysis, with the following objectives—identification of the criteria for intervention for a healthy city design, with particular attention to the psychological, architectural, and construction aspects, and an initial verification of these criteria, through a case study consisting of a section of the city’s waterfront, in the city of Livorno. This case study has enabled, both, the definition of an innovative design and implementation of solutions, for the correct use, accessibility, and management of spaces. It provides the first evaluation of a possible digital analyses of a waterfront, before and after intervention; and highlights the potential and the critical aspects of the process of recovery and re-appropriation of an urban space, for a new social life, within it.

ABSTRACT City-based initiatives to improve eating habits are being developed. Although there is sufficient evidence of their potential impact, the largest gap lies in the translation of this knowledge into urban food policies and interventions. In this article, we describe the experience of the city of Madrid city healthy and sustainable nursery school food systems. Madrid, the third largest European city, is characterized by large social inequalities. Childhood overweight and obesity affect over 40% of children, with those from low socioeconomic status showing a higher prevalence. In Madrid, the ‘Healthy and Sustainable Food Strategies’ include collaborations between city officials, NGOs, food producers, and academics. We highlight two important achievements within nursery schools (72 centers covering 8,500 children aged 0-3 years) fostering healthier and more sustainable food systems. First, the development and implementation of health and environmental standards in public food procurement practices. Second, the establishment of collaborative Food Steering Groups between the Madrid Council childhood education department and civil society. Madrid’s experience might be of interest to other cities.

Abstract Food security strategies are essential for cities to respond to stresses and shocks while promoting urban health and quality of life. In Brazil, twenty-seven million city dwellers face severe food insecurity. Urban planning, local climate action and food security promotion are within Brazilian cities’ legal scope of action, providing opportunities to strengthen urban resilience. In this context, the proposed investigation aimed to verify if and how Brazilian cities coordinate these public policies to promote urban resilience and what accomplishments stem from this coordination. The investigation developed as a multiple case study covering ten Brazilian cities. It comprised the qualitative analysis of public policy documents using NVivo for data treatment, quantification, and categorisation. The results showed a wide variety in the breadth and depth of policy measures, indicating diverse maturity levels and implementation and pointing out opportunities for future investigation and policy improvements.

ABSTRACT Physical, psychological, and emotional stress are common in today’s Dhaka city, which can be intense or sensory excruciating. Urban green space is considered a healthy environment for mental repair and well-being in urban domains. The senses (vision, touch, sound, smell, and taste) are essential in interpreting and experiencing the place and city. Therefore, the sensory experience is a multimodal awareness of environment that can impact users’ health, pleasure, and emotions. This paper aims to methodically explore the intricate sensory fabric and spatial components responsible for users’ sensory experiences that are necessary for planning and designing healthier neighborhood parks. This paper outlines the methods and findings of the study conducted in two parks in Dhaka city’s distinct neighborhoods at different times of the day and week to record users’ activity patterns and sensory experiences. Justice Shahabuddin Park in Gulshan and Tajmahal Road Park, Mohammadpur, were chosen as the study locations to be investigated. The analysis comprised a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, such as ethnographic research and on-site observation, geographical mapping, surveys, and walk-along interviews to capture subjective and objective sensory data and daily rhythms of neighborhood park users. The results suggest that all senses are essential in building healthy, inclusive urban green spaces.

One of the significant challenges in urbanization is the air pollution. This highlights the need of the green city concept with reconsideration of houses, factories, and traffic in a green viewpoint. The literature review confirms that this reconsideration for green space has a positive effect on the air quality of large cities and to reduce the air pollution. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the annual vegetation changes in the green space of Mashhad, Iran as a very populated city in the middle east to study the air pollution. To investigate the relationship between the air pollution and vegetation, the Landsat 8 satellite images for summer seasons of 2013–2019 were used to extract changes in vegetation by calculating the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and the optimized soil adjusted vegetation index (OSAVI). The main contribution in comparison with the relevant studies is to study the relationship between clean, healthy, and unhealthy days with the green space area for the first time in Mashhad, Iran. The results show that the implementation of green city concept in Mashhad, Iran, has been increased by 64, 81, and 53% by NDVI, EVI, and OSAVI, respectively, during the study period. The vegetation area of this city is positively correlated to clean and healthy days and has a negative correlation to unhealthy days, in which the greatest values for NDVI, EVI and OSAVI are 0.33, 0.52, and −0.53, respectively.

Introduction: One of the goals of sustainable development is to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The healthy city approach is becoming increasingly important in addressing a large number of urban health problems and promoting healthy lifestyles in city dwellers.Objectives: We performed a case study of the healthy city project in Wonju, South Korea to find out its characteristics and approaches, and to explore its relevance to the cities in Nepal.Methods: We conducted a case study of the healthy city Wonju project by reviewing relevant published articles and web pages of the city (http://healthycity.wonju.go.kr), alliance for healthy cities, Korean statistical information service and World Health Organization. We also reviewed articles and documents related to healthy cities in South-East Asian countries and Nepal.Results: The healthy city Wonju project, started in 2004, executed its five-year plan between 2006 and 2010, and is currently running with its 10 year long-term plan (2011- 2020). For its success, Wonju City has been awarded six times by WHO. Recently, Wonju city organized the seventh global conference of the AFHC in August, 2016 in Wonju with the main theme of “our cities, our health, our future”. Key features of the healthy city Wonju project included: Strong political commitment of local government, financing the healthy city initiative with tobacco consumption tax, partnerships with universities, well organized healthy city teams under city administration, coordination with national and regional healthy cities alliance, community participation, and involvement in research for evidence-based planning and evaluation. Nepal, one of the fast urbanizing countries in South-East Asia faces large number of urban health problems.Conclusions: Though numbers of cities and city dwellers are increasing rapidly, Nepal lacks healthy city projects and networking. The approaches of healthy city Wonju might be useful for developing countries such as Nepal to initiate and develop healthy cities projects in a sustainable way. Journal of Gandaki Medical CollegeVol. 10, No. 1, 2017, page: 34-42

The present study explores the design and implementation of public policies focusing on ageing by Portuguese local governments, considering the lack of a centralized national strategy for active and healthy ageing to guide and be customized at a local level. To take stock of what is being accomplished at the city council level, we first collected and analyzed the available local strategies and further explored the process of elaboration and implementation through semi-structured interviews in four case studies. Findings suggest that only a small percentage of local governments have a strategic plan for (active and healthy) ageing. The first was launched in 2008, but most have been in place for only a few years, indicating that local governments are growing more aware of their relevance and necessity. The qualitative data supports the vital importance of this policy instrument; however, lacking centralized guidelines, the process of elaboration and implementation is idiosyncratic and prone to strategic shortcomings. Common to all is the agreement with the role of the strategy in meeting older people’s needs and expectations, currently attuned with ageing located in the community with the least disruption possible. These results provide some cues to what may be a conceptual and operational framework of healthy ageing policies to apply at the local level, privileging more flexible, fair, and adjusted approaches to the needs of older individuals in different territories.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world order from the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on changes in healthy living practices, such as decreased physical exercise and increased stress, compromising psychological well-being. The psychological impacts of walking and relaxing in urban green spaces on IPB University students are investigated in this study. Bogor City Alun-Alun, Sempur Park, and Heulang Park were used for the experiment. Participants completed 15 minutes of walking and relaxed sitting before and after the experiment, and the psychological impacts were assessed using Profiles of Mood States (POMS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) before and after the experiment. The results indicate that physical activity improves psychological wellness. These findings give scientific evidence for the psychologically relaxing effects of walking and relaxed sitting, as well as recommendations to support the development and construction of therapeutic urban green spaces.