transforming the built environment through healthy-design strategies: a multidimensional framework for urban plans’ evaluation

Abstract

According to the research grant titled “Urban Health: good practices for health impact assessment of urban and environmental redevelopment and regeneration interventions” and awarded by the Italian National Center for Disease prevention and Control (CCM) in 2017, this paper is aimed to describe the overall goal of the project: develop and disseminate experience-based practices among Policy Makers, based on Health Impact Assessment models, literature and case studies, mainly referred to healthy aging and equity in urban regeneration programs. The authors were involved in the development and application phases of a quali-quantitative assessment tool, capable of providing an effective and flexible support to the Local Health Agencies (LHAs) for evaluating the Urban Health strategies’ integrations into urban plans. The final framework is composed by 20 criteria, aimed to assess the propensity of urban plans to promote Urban Health strategies. The criteria are divided into 7 macro-areas: the first one including prerequisites (0. General criteria) while the other 6 constituting the assessment tool (1. Environment; 2. Soil and subsoil; 3. Sustainability and hygiene of the built environment; 4. Urban and social development; 5. Mobility and transport; 6. Outdoor spaces). This research project could be considered a starting point to disseminate methods, tools and indicators to design and assess not merely the public spaces’ environmental quality, but also foresee the urban plans’ Public Health outcomes.