Publications
Research publications connecting urban form, climate exposure, and health at the pedestrian scale.
The U-Care publication series presents a structured, evidence-based approach to understanding and addressing urban health challenges at the pedestrian scale. Developed within the Erasmus+ U-Care project, the series responds to the need for planning and design methodologies capable of identifying spatial inequities arising from the interaction between mobility constraints, climate stressors, and environmental degradation in everyday urban environments. Together, the publications establish a coherent narrative that links urban form, environmental performance, and human exposure, with a particular focus on slower-paced and vulnerable groups.
UrbanCare Ecosystem Indicators: A Multi-Scale, Street-Centered Evidence Framework for Supporting Urban Health-Oriented Planning and Design
Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-4459)
Ilaria Geddes (University of Cyprus; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-8597)
Antonia Sore (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6528-8733)
Rosa Romano (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-4637)
Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0007-7270)
Urban pedestrian environments concentrate environmental burdens that disproportionately affect slower-paced and mobility-constrained populations. Walkability constraints, surface runoff, urban heat, and biotope loss interact across spatial scales to generate cumulative health, climate, and economic impacts that existing planning tools address in a fragmented and inconsistent manner.
This article presents the operationalization of the UrbanCare framework across four European cities representing distinct climatic zones: Berlin (temperate continental), Gothenburg (oceanic), Florence (Mediterranean transitional), and Nicosia (semi-arid Mediterranean). The study has a dual purpose: first, to validate the usability of the UrbanCare framework by demonstrating that its three-phase workflow of Spatial Inequity Research, Sustainable Pedestrian Planning, and Integrated Pedestrian Design can be consistently applied across diverse urban and climatic contexts; and second, to examine how ecosystem-based indicators are selected, adapted, and implemented within this structure in response to local environmental conditions.
Berlin serves as the reference case, producing a distilled set of 72 indicators organized across four analytical clusters, four mitigation targets, and a standardized Pedestrian Survey instrument. Partner city applications in Gothenburg, Florence, and Nicosia demonstrate how indicator content adapts to cold-climate hydrology, heritage-constrained morphology, and semi-arid water scarcity without altering the shared analytical structure.
Results confirm that the framework supports the traceable transformation of environmental evidence into planning targets and design performance within studio-based evaluation, and that non-compensatory planning strategies addressing all four mitigation targets simultaneously are achievable across contrasting climatic conditions. The framework offers a transferable method for health-oriented and climate-resilient urban planning with implications for municipal practice, EU-level policy, and academic education.
Keywords: Urban health; Pedestrian environments; Ecosystem indicators; Walkability; Urban heat; Surface runoff; Biotope loss; Climate resilience; Spatial inequity
Operationalizing Urban Health Evidence at Street Level: The U-CARE Platform as a Methodological Interface for Pedestrian-Focused Planning
Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-4459)
Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0007-7270)
Urban public space plays a critical role in shaping everyday health outcomes, particularly for pedestrians and slower-paced or vulnerable groups. However, translating complex urban health evidence into formats that can be meaningfully interpreted by planners, designers, and public-sector stakeholders remains a challenge. This contribution presents the U-CARE Web Platform, a methodological digital environment developed to structure, visualize, and interpret urban health and environmental evidence at the street and neighborhood scales.
The platform operationalizes the UrbanCare methodology by organizing data around four mitigation themes, walkability, surface runoff, urban heat, and biotope loss, and by structuring spatial analysis through pedestrian loops and recurrent urban scenes such as crossings, stops, and respite areas. Rather than generating design solutions, the platform functions as an interface for evidence-based reasoning, supporting diagnosis, comparison, and discussion in planning, teaching, and participatory contexts.
The contribution introduces a conference-based evaluation strategy to assess the user interface of the platform’s beta version. A scientific poster integrates a QR code that invites participants to access a guided platform demonstration illustrating the key steps used to structure an urban case and explore aggregated spatial outputs. Following this experience, participants are invited to complete a short user interface evaluation survey focusing on usability, clarity of visualizations, and perceived professional relevance.
The approach enables structured feedback from professionals and academics across architecture, urban planning, public health, and related fields. The contribution discusses the rationale for this evaluation strategy and reflects on the role of methodological digital interfaces in supporting urban health-oriented planning and decision-making at the intersection of the built environment and public health.
Keywords: Urban health, pedestrian environments, evidence-based planning, digital platforms, user interface evaluation, public space and health
Teaching Urban Health: Research-based Learning for Sustainable Urban Planning, Design and Governance.
Ilaria Geddes (University of Cyprus; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-8597)
Frixos Petrou
Antonia Sore (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6528-8733)
Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-4459)
Rosa Romano (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-4637)
Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0007-7270)
This paper presents the educational outcomes of three pilot courses on urban health and restorative design implemented at the University of Florence, the University of Cyprus, and Chalmers University of Technology between March 2025 and January 2026, as part of an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Higher Education. The aim of the U-CARE project (Urban CARE to battle climate change impacts on urban ecosystems and health across different European climate zones) was to establish new learning modules in the participating Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) based on the UrbanCare framework, a pre-existing methodological approach for structuring evidence-based urban health spatial projects. The framework guided a 3-step methodology: 1. Urban health research; 2. Neighbourhood diagnostics; 3. Decision-making workshops. All courses shared the framework’s four key themes central to addressing climate change-driven urban degradation and its associated health impacts in urban environments: urban heat, walkability, stormwater runoff, and biotope loss. The educational objectives were to integrate research-based learning, the use of smart tools (an analytical web viewer developed for the purposes of the project) and participatory practices to foster the transdisciplinary skills required for the future generation of urban planners, environmental designers and public authorities’ managers to tackle pressing climate threats and public health challenges.
The three courses follow a sequential learning process, starting with more practical modules that introduce research data collection and analysis, and environmental impact assessment, moving on to planning and design of 3 pilot cases using human-centred approaches, and culminating in service and infrastructure management. The syllabi, learning activities, and assessment criteria were collaboratively developed and included lectures, international seminars, fieldwork, participatory workshops, student group work and presentations, individual work, and short quizzes. Educators from the partner institutions provided teaching components for the different courses, and original learning materials – available as Open Educational Resources (OER) – on a topic currently underrepresented in European HEIs. The courses were targeted at postgraduate students – either a master’s degree, a 5th-year integrated architecture degree or a PhD. A total of 58 students attended the courses across the three institutions and evaluated them with regard to the skills and knowledge acquired – including participatory and labour-market skills, the clarity of the lectures’ objectives, and the learning resources.
Providing hybrid participation in the courses to students from partner institutions other than the one hosting the specific pilot proved impossible due to institutional regulations and misaligned academic timeframes across countries – a common challenge for higher education in the EU. Asynchronous access to teaching resources was to some extent provided through the OER. Overall, the outcomes of the students’ evaluations were positive, with between 66.6% and 100% of students reporting that they had acquired the skills targeted by the courses.
Keywords: Urban health education; Research-based learning; Climate adaptation; Participatory planning; Higher education; Digital platforms; Transdisciplinary skills
Systemic Approaches to Climate Regeneration for the Preservation of Urban Heritage
Rosa Romano (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-4637)
Antonia Sore (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6528-8733)
Ilaria Geddes (University of Cyprus; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-8597)
Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-4459)
The regeneration of urban ecosystems, understood as a common heritage, requires the development of systemic projects that positively safeguard and enhance the built environment through the effective involvement of all stakeholders in the transformation process. U-CARE addresses this challenge by promoting co-design actions grounded in a well-being-oriented approach.
The experimentation, based on the adoption of an original operational framework, engaged approximately 200 European citizens. Participants were invited to reflect on the state of proximity heritage in their cities and to identify effective transformation strategies, inspired by environmental sustainability principles, that could improve health and support healthier everyday lifestyles.
Keywords: Urban health; Pedestrian environments; Digital planning platforms; Climate-responsive urban design; Participatory planning; Evidence-based urbanism
Research Informed Co-Design for Healthy and Climate-resilient Neighborhoods
Ilaria Geddes (University of Cyprus; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-8597)
Rosa Romano (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-4637)
Antonia Sore (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6528-8733)
Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0007-7270)
Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-4459)
U-CARE is an ongoing Erasmus+ project focused on transforming urban ecosystems to enhance health across European cities with diverse climates. The project’s mission is to integrate urban health research, neighbourhood-level diagnostics, as well as participatory decision-making into higher education and urban practice. This would better prepare future planners, designers, and public health professionals to address the environmental and health impacts faced because of climate change. Within this mission, four workshops were implemented in the project’s case study areas in Gothenburg (Sahlgrenska Hospital), Berlin (Pankow district), Florence (Isolotto neighbourhood), and Nicosia (Makarios Hospital), connecting urban health research into decision-making processes involving a variety of stakeholders at the neighbourhood level. The workshops were structured using the UrbanCare framework and workflow, developed by Building Health Lab (BHL), and focused on four interconnected urban issues: walkability, surface runoff, urban heat, and biotope loss.
The workshops organised by the U-CARE project demonstrate the potential of combining environmental research, digital tools, and participatory co-design to support healthier, more climate-resilient urban environments. The workshops successfully brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to produce a shared, evidence-informed understanding of urban health challenges and feasible intervention pathways. By integrating environmental data with collaborative decision-making, the workshops made complex urban health data more accessible, understandable, and actionable for diverse stakeholders. The nature of findings and outputs is exploratory at this stage, due to the limited sample size, but the methods employed can be developed and scaled up further. Further analysis and piloting would be necessary, however the success of the workshops points to the fact that similar approaches could have a positive impact on policy planning for urban design that responds to issues of public health and climate resilience.
Keywords: Urban health; Pedestrian environments; Digital planning platforms; Climate-responsive urban design; Participatory planning; Evidence-based urbanism
Scene-Based Urban Health Evidence for Health-Centered and Climate-Responsive Street Planning: The U-Care Site Report Workflow
Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-4459)
Ilaria Geddes (University of Cyprus; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-8597)
Antonia Sore (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6528-8733)
Rosa Romano (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-4637)
Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0007-7270)
Urban public spaces concentrate everyday exposures to mobility barriers, heat stress, surface runoff hazards, and ecological degradation, with disproportionate impacts on slower-paced and vulnerable groups, including older adults, children, caregivers, and people with disabilities.
This paper synthesizes a structured series of twenty Urban Health Site Reports developed under the UrbanCare methodology within the Erasmus+ U-Care project. Together, the reports generate comparable, street-scale evidence to support health-centered and climate-responsive urban planning and design. The approach operationalizes a replicable unit of analysis based on pedestrian loops of approximately 2 km. Within these loops, the methodology evaluates four recurring urban scene types along the pedestrian journey: stops and stations, street crossings, respite areas, and entrances to priority services and functions. Across each scene, the methodology integrates GIS layers, environmental measurements, spatial visualizations, and structured field observations to assess four mitigation targets that shape public health outcomes in urban public space: walkability constraints, urban heat, surface runoff, and biotope loss.
The workflow was piloted in Berlin and subsequently applied across three additional European contexts, Gothenburg, Florence, and Nicosia, combining methodological standardization for cross-case comparability with contextual adaptation to local climatic, morphological, and institutional conditions. The reports are organized as a phased workflow linking data management, environmental health impact assessment, policy alignment, planning and design translation, and implementation pathways. The paper demonstrates how scene-based diagnostics can support transferable operational frameworks that connect street-scale environmental health assessment with policy, planning, design, and implementation pathways.
Keywords: Urban health; Walkability; Urban heat; Stormwater runoff; Street-scale assessment
Defining Urban Health Evidence and Communication with Digital Platform Support: Usability, Replicability, and Scalability of the U-Care Platform
Alvaro Valera Sosa (Building Health Lab; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7662-4459)
Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0007-7270)
Rosa Romano (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-4637)
Ilaria Geddes (University of Cyprus; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4463-8597)
Antonia Sore (University of Florence; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6528-8733)
Urban public spaces play a critical role in shaping health outcomes, particularly for slower-paced and vulnerable population groups exposed to environmental stressors such as accessibility barriers, flooding, heat, and ecological degradation. While urban health frameworks increasingly rely on complex environmental and spatial evidence, translating such evidence into usable formats for planning, education, and participatory decision-making remains a significant challenge.
This paper examines how digital platform support can assist the operationalization of the UrbanCare framework, a methodology and workflow for structuring urban cases through organized evidence management, stakeholder participation, and practice-oriented visualizations across different urban contexts. Rather than functioning as a simulation or design tool, the U-Care platform supports the practical use of urban health evidence through accessible analysis, communication, and participatory interpretation.
Focusing on usability and learning value, the paper discusses how the platform assists stakeholder workshops, higher education activities, and applied planning processes through standardized visual outputs of the UrbanCare framework, including neighborhood-scale info-maps and street-level info-cards. These components provide a shared evidence base that facilitates interdisciplinary dialogue and supports the structured interpretation of environmental health conditions at both neighborhood and pedestrian scales. The platform ensures usability, replicability, and scalability by enabling comparable case structuring while allowing contextual adaptation to different climatic, morphological, and institutional conditions.
Drawing from applications in Berlin, Gothenburg, Florence, and Nicosia, the paper highlights how digital platform support can strengthen evidence-informed and participatory urban practice while contributing to transferable approaches for health-centered and climate-responsive planning across diverse urban settings.
Keywords: Urban health; Walkability; Digital planning platforms; Climate-responsive urban design; Participatory planning; Evidence-based urbanism