Many streets across the globe have gotten increasingly inhospitable to children and the elderly as a result of compounding traffic and road safety concerns which deter these groups from lively transport, like walking or cycling. The recent emphasis on designing cities that cater to the well-being of people from ages eight to 80 isn’t only a catchy phrase, but a significant requirement to accommodate evolving demographic realities.
Similarly, the concept of the 15-minute city has garnered significant attention lately — despite baseless conspiracies accusing local authorities of plotting to limit residents to a small radius around their homes.
The 15-minute city is all about accessibility, time efficiency and expanding options for everybody, not only probably the most well-off. Achieving this goal, and designing healthier spaces, begins with a comprehensive understanding of how urban environments impact our health and well-being — together with a practical take a look at the present barriers to healthier urban design.
Our recent research — conducted with the assistance of research assistants Shanzey Ali and Agnes Fung and the City of Regina and Saskatchewan Health Authority and currently awaiting peer review — set out to grasp these barriers.
Designing higher spaces
Research shows that the layout of streets, access to grocery stores, alternative of construction materials in dwelling design, and the distribution of public services all play pivotal roles in influencing our health and well-being.
Neighbourhoods with accessible public and community spaces and social events have been shown to enhance mental health, increase happiness, and offer a sense of belonging and community. At the identical time, readily accessible grocery stores, community gardens and farmers’ markets have been shown to enhance mental, social and physical health.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
So, how can we create built environments which are more helpful? This is where urban planning is available in as municipal policy-makers develop and implement policies, which may alter the structure, use and regulations of public spaces in cities.
The intricate dance between urban planning and health has deep historical roots. The early use of sanitation and segregated zoning to regulate infectious disease outbreaks within the nineteenth century is well established and these efforts proceed to today.
Meanwhile, global agencies just like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have championed the mixing of health and equity into urban governance. Indeed, the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 goals for inclusive, resilient, protected and sustainable cities. Accordingly, cities are well positioned to safeguard population health and reduce health inequities in a changing climate.
Day-to-day challenges
So, why are we not seeing more urban design policies focused on residents’ health and well-being? Our findings make clear 4 key issues.
1 – An absence of shared understanding of health equity
Policy makers lacked a shared understanding of health and equity which highlights the complexity of addressing health inequities and implementing effective policies. While the importance of physical and mental health was widely acknowledged, a glaring gap exists in the popularity of the social dimension of health.
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Policy-makers often struggled to seek out common ground on what constitutes health and equity, which hindered meaningful motion. As one policy-maker noted: “I don’t think our (design) standards have ever really been checked out from that health perspective.”
2 – The evidence is frequently inaccessible
While policy-makers acknowledged evidence (data) as a vital constructing block of policy making, they explained there are significant barriers to accessing it. Administrative roadblocks, corresponding to an absence of co-ordination between, and inside, provincial and municipal governments, can prevent access to crucial data needed for policy making.
Financial barriers, corresponding to paywalls, can lock access to scientific studies. Meanwhile, technical barriers — including the usage of jargon and overly-technical language by the educational community — can interfere with the accessibility of educational literature.
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As one policy-maker put it: “There’s a number of academic acumen that’s used and terminology, and it could possibly be overwhelming, and no one desires to walk out of a room and feel silly.” As a result, sometimes the most effective approach can also be not well understood by the municipal actors, creating greater need for knowledge translation and accessible research.
3 – Government structures are fragmented
A fragmented governance structure, marked by silo-ing, is one other stumbling block. This lack of co-ordination amongst different branches and divisions inside a municipality can lead to missed opportunities for collaboration. Differences in the usage of terminology can exacerbate the issue, causing confusion and impeding cross-sectoral work.
Conflicts between the objectives of assorted divisions, corresponding to those between lively transportation planners and traffic engineers, underscore the challenges posed by siloed governance. As one policy-maker noted: “There were plenty of policies that we appear to put in place that very much favour the movement of vehicles over the movement of pedestrians, cyclists”.
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Adding complexity to the combo is the limited legal power of local governments in Canada. Deemed “creatures of the province,” municipalities can only exercise powers delegated to them by provincial governments – meaning municipal powers might be modified or revoked theoretically at will.
The ambiguity surrounding the roles and responsibilities of municipalities versus the provincial government creates tension and incurs costs, as municipalities grapple with disagreements over whose jurisdiction certain issues fall under. Most often, this ends in funding decisions that impact healthy urban design.
4 – Political ideologies get in the way in which
Beyond bureaucratic challenges, differing political ideologies present a formidable barrier.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj
The integration of health in urban design is rooted in the concept of collectivism, which goals to maximise advantages to the community as a complete. While the present favouring of car-centric roads in most areas reflects a libertarian individualism at odds with collective ideals in urban design.
This imbalance is very striking when one considers the considerably higher costs to society of driving over walking or biking.
Policy-makers noted that these political ideologies permeate public perception, leading to resistance to policies perceived as infringing on individual liberties — while policies benefiting only a minority face opposition in the event that they entail personal drawbacks.
We found this issue was exemplified by a fierce resistance to proposals for safer conditions for sex staff by those that wanted them to stay in out-of-sight areas.
Overcoming these barriers
The journey towards creating healthier and more equitable cities is riddled with challenges. From an absence of shared understanding, to inaccessible evidence, fragmented governance and legal limitations of municipalities and differing political ideologies, the barriers are multifaceted. However, understanding these challenges is step one towards meaningful change.
By fostering collaboration, restructuring governance, empowering local governments, and promoting a collective mindset, we are able to pave the way in which for simpler integration of health into urban policies that actually support the well-being of communities at large.