Case Studies
Case Context and Problem
Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Northern Europe’s largest healthcare facility, is located in Gothenburg, Sweden, adjacent to a National Reserve and botanical gardens. The hospital serves 700,000 residents and specializes in advanced medical care. However, the campus faces critical challenges: spatial inequities caused by a car-dominated urban design, urban heat islands exacerbated by sealed surfaces, frequent rainwater runoff due to climate change, and biodiversity loss from insufficient green infrastructure. These issues disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities.
Spatial Interventions Objectives
The primary objective is to create a regenerative urban landscape that mitigates environmental stressors while improving walkability, accessibility, and health outcomes for vulnerable groups. Specific goals include:
Methodology
The study employed the UrbanCare research framework, combining field studies, stakeholder workshops, and environmental diagnostics. Key steps included:
Key Results and Lessons Learned
The study revealed significant barriers to walkability, including disconnected pedestrian zones and unsheltered parking lots. Urban heat spots increase cooling energy consumption by 19% and pose serious health risks during heatwaves. Rainwater runoff was found to escalate flooding risks and raise water treatment costs, while biodiversity loss impaired air quality and ecological balance. These findings stress the importance of integrated, nature-based solutions to address these interconnected issues effectively.
Limitations
The study faced limitations in acquiring long-term climate data for predictive modeling and comprehensive user feedback due to time constraints. Additionally, budgetary and administrative barriers hindered immediate implementation of proposed interventions.
Implications for Practice
This case study underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing urban health challenges. Planners and policymakers should prioritize pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and climate-resilient designs to improve health outcomes and urban sustainability.
Visual Evidence
Conclusion
The full case study includes detailed findings on pedestrian barriers, environmental stressors, and proposed regenerative strategies. It highlights methodologies like biotope ratio assessments and heat mapping, alongside stakeholder-driven solutions for improving urban health at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
Learn more about this case study at: https://www.buildinghealth.eu/a-healthy-hospital-in-gothenburg/
Contributors
Research: Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab) and Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology)
Contributors: Netra Naik and Anna Au from Building Health Lab
Related posts
We investigated how Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs intersect with gentrification in Greenville’s West End by using children’s active mobility as a lens to assess community perceptions. Through observations, behavior mapping, and interviews, we explored how mobility infrastructure impacts cultural traditions and socioeconomic dynamics. This approach allowed me to uncover tensions between design intentions and community realities, providing critical insights to guide equitable, context-sensitive urban planning in rapidly changing neighborhoods.
When designing and managing public space, decision-makers and designers should:
• involve citizens in the process,
• consider all of the factors that contribute to citizen happiness,
• use evidence-based approaches to inform their decisions,
• monitor and evaluate the impact of public spaces on citizen happiness
I diagnose urbanization’s toll: 60% of city dwellers face stress-related morbidity, which biophilic design aims to curb; yet my 100-study review reveals biophobia’s backlash, like glare spiking cortisol 10%. This dialectic, rooted in evolutionary and urban disconnect, exacerbates health inequities e.g., 30% higher stress in underserved areas —demanding my evidence-based, Hegelian synthesis to recalibrate architecture for resilience.
