Proyecto “Entorno urbano y salud” Caso estudio liderado por la diputación de Barcelona

Abstract

Barcelona Provincial Council initiated in 2010 the project “Urban Environment and Health” with the aim of creating urban environments that encourage the population to live in a healthy way and minimize those environmental factors that may pose a risk to health. As experts have shown, our health levels are conditioned more by our environment and way of life than the healthcare systems. Therefore, the cities we live in, the way we move around urban areas and the quality of the air we breathe make up 50% of the so-called “determinants of health”, the most important elements that have an impact on our health, while only 11% of these determinants are related to healthcare systems. Based on these studies and applying the WHO “Health in all policies” strategy, thanks to the collaborative work and synergies achieved, it has been possible to incorporate the health perspective into policies and interventions on the urban environment. After more than 10 years of development, tools have been articulated and made available to municipalities to consider health criteria in their urban and territorial planning. A strong point about the project is the dense network of interdisciplinary and inter-administrative collaborations that have allowed the incorporation of the health perspective in urban planning, the design of public space, and housing policies in much of the territory of the province of Barcelona, together with the translation of scientific evidence into public policies thanks to the collaboration with the Institute of Global Health and the the University of Vic.