Menu
City Know-hows
Target audience
City council public health and transport officers
The problem
Urban health studies usually focus on the differences between neighbourhoods in the same city; however, that approach lacks any assessment of the overarching forces affecting the city as a whole.
What we did and why
We compared differences in the walking environment between Madrid and Philadelphia. We used an audit tool called M-SPACES that measures, for each street segment;
Our study’s contribution
We found that Philadelphia’s streets had higher scores for function (physical attributes that supported walking) and safety, while Madrid streets had greater a greater proportion of streets having at least one walking destinations. These results are key to understand which elements of the built environment could be key to uncover mass influences that operate at the city level.
Impacts for city policy and practice
In order to understand which urban characteristics impact on physical activity and health, we need to understand what characterize our cities as a whole. In our study, Madrid is characterized by a higher proportion of daily walking destinations, while the streets of Philadelphia have better physical infrastructure for walking in the street.
Future studies should include attention to the potential impact of built environment characteristics at the city level.
Further information
Authors: Pedro Gullón (@pgullon), Usama Bilal (@usama_bilal), Patricia Sánchez, Julia DÃez (@JuliaDiez91), Gina S. Lovasi, and Manuel Franco (@mfranco_uah)
Full research article:
Related posts
Urban health is a complex system that involves several indicators acting together, there is no single solution to the health-related issues in cities. We wanted to promote healthy ageing in urban living. Our strategy was to take people’s needs and demands into account, when evaluating, monitoring and proposing feasible changes in built, natural and social environments.
Transportation planners and transit authorities must gain a better understanding of the passenger and ridership experience for those specific demographics who frequently use their services. This understanding can inform future improvements and help transit authorities work towards Universal Design.
This study on Greater Cairo Region, Egypt, addresses urban challenges through “urban micro-lungs.” It explores designing green corridors responsive to local climate and space constraints, emphasizing resilient, public health-focused interventions for hyper-dense cities in the Global South.
