Search results for "Green space"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
Urban upbringing and childhood respiratory and allergic conditions: A multi-country holistic study
2018
Objective: We integratively assessed the effect of different indoor and outdoor environmental exposures early in life on respiratory and allergic health conditions among children from (sub-) urban areas. Methods: This study included children participating in four ongoing European birth cohorts located in three different geographical regions: INMA (Spain), LISAplus (Germany), GINIplus (Germany) and BAMSE (Sweden). Wheezing, bronchitis, asthma and allergic rhinitis throughout childhood were assessed using parental-completed questionnaires. We designed “environmental scores” corresponding to different indoor, green- and grey-related exposures (main analysis, a-priori-approach). Cohort-specific…
Describing urban soils through a faceted system ensures more informed decision-making
2016
Urban areas are increasing worldwide at a dramatic rate and their soils definitely deserve more attention than they have received in the past. In urban environments, soils potentially provide the same ecosystem services as in rural and wild environments, although in some cases they are depleted of their basic functions, such as when they lose their productive and filtering capacities because of sealing, and become mere supports for infrastructures. In other cases, soils of urban areas acquire new functions that are unique to these environments. Current soil classifications fail to effectively account for the complexity of urban soils and the information that is required for their management…
The Urban Built Environment, Walking and Mental Health Outcomes Among Older Adults: A Pilot Study
2020
The benefits of walking in older age include improved cognitive health (e.g., mental alertness, improved memory functioning) and a reduced risk of stress, depression and dementia. However, research capturing the benefits of walking among older people in real-time as they navigate their world is currently very limited. This study explores cognitive health and well-being outcomes in older people as they walk in their local neighborhood environment. Residents from an independent living facility for older people (mean age 65, n = 11) walked from their home in two dichotomous settings, selected on the basis of significantly different infrastructure, varying levels of noise, traffic and percentag…
How urban characteristics affect vulnerability to heat and cold: a multi-country analysis
2019
Background The health burden associated with temperature is expected to increase due to a warming climate. Populations living in cities are likely to be particularly at risk, but the role of urban characteristics in modifying the direct effects of temperature on health is still unclear. In this contribution, we used a multi-country dataset to study effect modification of temperature–mortality relationships by a range of city-specific indicators. Methods We collected ambient temperature and mortality daily time-series data for 340 cities in 22 countries, in periods between 1985 and 2014. Standardized measures of demographic, socio-economic, infrastructural and environmental indicators were d…
Surrounding Greenness and Pregnancy Outcomes in Four Spanish Birth Cohorts
2012
Background: Green spaces have been associated with improved physical and mental health; however, the available evidence on the impact of green spaces on pregnancy is scarce. Objectives: We investigated the association between surrounding greenness and birth weight, head circumference, and gestational age at delivery. Methods: This study was based on 2, 393 singleton live births from four Spanish birth cohorts (Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell, and Valencia) located in two regions of the Iberian Peninsula with distinct climates and vegetation patterns (2003–2008). We defined surrounding greenness as average of satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (Landsat 4–5 TM data at …
Lifelong Residential Exposure to Green Space and Attention: A Population-based Prospective Study
2017
C.T. is a recipient of a European Respiratory Society Fellowship (RESPIRE2–2015–7251) P.D. is funded by a Ramón y Cajal fellowship (RYC-2012-10995) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. S.L. is funded by a Miguel Servet-FEDER fellowship (MS15/0025) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. M.G. is funded by a Miguel Servet-FEDER fellowship (MS13/00054) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
Per un ripensamento dello standard in chiave prestazionale: un caso studio a Palermo
2017
Il contributo nasce dallo studio dell’esperienza di Parco Uditore, un'area verde di Palermo, diventata nel 2012 parco pubblico in seguito a una mobilitazione civica. L'apertura del parco in una circoscrizione che, parimenti alle altre a Palermo, risulta carente di aree attrezzate ha indotto un ragionamento sull'ipotesi di stabilire dei parametri prestazionali, oltre che di superficie, per gli spazi pubblici verdi. Seguendo una metodologia induttiva e comparativa, rispetto a modelli sperimentati in altri contesti, il contributo si propone di verificare se dall’osservazione del caso di Parco Uditore sia possibile estrapolare parametri prestazionali da affiancare alla dotazione minima dello st…
Urban Greening management in the framework of Smart City Development
2014
Quality of green spaces is an important indicator in the smart urban evolution. Integration between green management needs and ecosystem services within environmental policies and local development plans is often very limited. Urban green infrastructures and related issues still arouse poor interest, mainly in South Mediterranean cities. Methods for full assessment of urban green areas integrating diverse features of sustainability (from biodiversity to public awareness and fruition) are still lacking. Here we aim to present an integrated tool to evaluate/monitor the state and sustainability of urban green spaces. The goal is to support the governance systems of urban green areas by focusin…
Giustizia ambientale e recupero delle aree verdi: il caso di Palermo
2021
L’urban shrinkage è diventata una questione centrale tanto nel dibattito scientifico quanto nell’agenda politica di diverse città europee. Secondo i dati EUROSTAT (2019), circa il 40% delle città europee con più di 200.000 abitanti stanno perdendo popolazione; una contrazione che si esplicita maggiormente, sotto il profilo spaziale, in una progressiva sottoutilizzazione del patrimonio edificato, così come nel contestuale incremento di aree e terreni in stato di abbandono. In questo quadro controverso di mutazione strutturale della città, così come l’abbiamo conosciuta, le politiche urbane alla prova in Europa tentano di declinare la decrescita quale occasione strategica di investimento sull…
The Urban Exposome during Pregnancy and Its Socioeconomic Determinants
2018
Background: The urban exposome is the set of environmental factors that are experienced in the outdoor urban environment and that may influence child development. Objective: The authors’ goal was to describe the urban exposome among European pregnant women and understand its socioeconomic determinants. Methods: Using geographic information systems, remote sensing and spatio-temporal modeling we estimated exposure during pregnancy to 28 environmental indicators in almost 30,000 women from six population-based birth cohorts, in nine urban areas from across Europe. Exposures included meteorological factors, air pollutants, traffic noise, traffic indicators, natural space, the built environment…