Promoting healthier, greener and more equitable cities
13 Mai 2016
New project seeks to improve urban-decision making and the health of urban populations.
A new project led by researchers from the Sustainable Places Research Institute at Cardiff University and the United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health will build research capacity and help inform urban decision-making for local health and environmental goals in Malaysian cities. The team will also look specifically at how health links with green infrastructure and urban food.
Dr Yi Gong from the Sustainable Places Research Institute said: “As the World’s population becomes increasingly urban, with more than half living in urban areas, cities have more influence than ever on economies, environments and health. Despite progress in urban planning, rapid urbanisation still experiences urban health problems, often the unintended consequences of decisions in other sectors.
“By developing our understanding of these issues and applying tailored place-based approaches the research team want to help ensure better planning decisions are made, improving the health of urban populations in the future.”
Funded by the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund and working with partners in Malaysia, the ‘Systems thinking and plaCe-based methods for HEalthier MAlaysian cities (SCHEMA)’ project will examine urban health in Malaysia and will help to unravel this complex issue by examining the linkages between health and physical and social environments.