A new tool to estimate the health effects of urban development proposals has been revealed by researchers at the Universities of Bristol and Bath, writes a statement. The valuation tool, which forms a core part of TRUUD (a transdisciplinary research project seeking to reduce non-communicable disease such as cancers, diabetes and obesity), evaluates factors including buildings, transport, the natural environment, socio-economics and community infrastructure.
To value the potential health effects of these factors on future residents of urban development proposals, the researchers integrated environmental economics with public health systematic reviews and urban design analysis. University of Bath researcher Eleanor Eaton and lead author of the paper, published in Frontiers in Public Health, explained: "It is possible to value the potential health effects of our urban environments and weigh these against the traditional financial costs and benefits of city development.”
As an example, the statement cites green spaces, which provide a range of health benefits in reducing diabetes and risk of weight gain, but can also contribute to childhood asthma. Similarly, a significant link was revealed between noise from traffic and child conduct disorder. “By adjusting scenarios, planners could have a tool for measuring the likely health impacts of increasing or decreasing the amount and quality of green spaces,” writes the statement.
The approach was originally conceived during two previous studies on climate risk, funded by Innovate UK and NERC, followed by a Wellcome-funded pilot project, UPSTREAM, according to the statement. The TRUUD programme has since enabled "a substantial expansion of economic evidence, as well as further testing of the tool in another major project setting". em
