Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan
Introduction: The Green Corridors Plan (Eixos Verds Plan), proposed by the Barcelona City Council, aims to enhance urban well-being, environmental sustainability, and resilience by transforming one in every three streets into green corridors. Although initially designed for city-wide implementation,...
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000649 |
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| author | Tamara Iungman Sergi Ventura Caballé Ricard Segura-Barrero Marta Cirach Natalie Mueller Carolyn Daher Gara Villalba Evelise Pereira Barboza Mark Nieuwenhuijsen |
| author_facet | Tamara Iungman Sergi Ventura Caballé Ricard Segura-Barrero Marta Cirach Natalie Mueller Carolyn Daher Gara Villalba Evelise Pereira Barboza Mark Nieuwenhuijsen |
| author_sort | Tamara Iungman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The Green Corridors Plan (Eixos Verds Plan), proposed by the Barcelona City Council, aims to enhance urban well-being, environmental sustainability, and resilience by transforming one in every three streets into green corridors. Although initially designed for city-wide implementation, only the first phase, focused on the centric Eixample district, has been completed, and the overall plan implementation has been postponed. Our aim is to evaluate the health co-benefits of implementing the Green Corridors plan citywide, focusing on the direct effects of increased exposure to greenness and the impact of temperature reduction on mortality. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive Health Impact Assessment (HIA) considering direct effects of expanding green spaces (GS) and the impact on temperature reduction. Preventable mortality at the census tract level for adult residents was estimated, and to address uncertainties, we performed Monte Carlo iterations. We computed the percentage increase in GS (land use) and tree cover and converted them into Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to conduct the HIA, employing a Generalized Additive Model (GAM). We used the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) coupled with the urban parameterizations “Building Effect Parameterization” (BEP) and “Building Energy Model” (BEM) for temperature modelling. Hourly temperatures from 25/06/2015 to 25/07/2015 were simulated, both with and without Green Corridors Plan implementation. Results: City-wide implementation of the Green Corridors plan would increase average GS by 3.64 % (IQR: 2.17 % − 4.40 %) and NDVI by 0.286 (IQR: 0.256–0.304) per census tract. This could potentially prevent 178 premature deaths annually (95 % CI: 116–247), equating to 13 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (95 % CI: 9–19). The average daily temperature reduction per census tract was estimated at 0.05 °C, with a maximum reduction of 0.42 °C. Temperature reduction could potentially prevent 5 deaths during the simulated month. Additionally, we estimated a mean decrease in the thermal stress of 0.11 °C, reaching up to 1.48 °C at its peak. Conclusion: The Green Corridors plan can make significant contributions to a healthier urban environment. To address climate and especially heat impacts, complementary strategies to achieve more substantial temperature reduction are needed. Overall, our findings underscore the potential of nature-based solutions (NbS), exemplified by the Green Corridors Plan, in creating more sustainable and health-promoting urban environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8faf8358439e491b94c073f0a082df44 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-8faf8358439e491b94c073f0a082df442025-02-08T04:59:23ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-02-01196109313Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) planTamara Iungman0Sergi Ventura Caballé1Ricard Segura-Barrero2Marta Cirach3Natalie Mueller4Carolyn Daher5Gara Villalba6Evelise Pereira Barboza7Mark Nieuwenhuijsen8Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, SpainInstitute of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Z Building, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, SpainInstitute of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Z Building, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, SpainInstitute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, SpainInstitute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, SpainInstitute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, SpainInstitute of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Z Building, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, XRB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, SpainInstitute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, SpainInstitute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain; Corresponding author at: ISGlobal, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.Introduction: The Green Corridors Plan (Eixos Verds Plan), proposed by the Barcelona City Council, aims to enhance urban well-being, environmental sustainability, and resilience by transforming one in every three streets into green corridors. Although initially designed for city-wide implementation, only the first phase, focused on the centric Eixample district, has been completed, and the overall plan implementation has been postponed. Our aim is to evaluate the health co-benefits of implementing the Green Corridors plan citywide, focusing on the direct effects of increased exposure to greenness and the impact of temperature reduction on mortality. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive Health Impact Assessment (HIA) considering direct effects of expanding green spaces (GS) and the impact on temperature reduction. Preventable mortality at the census tract level for adult residents was estimated, and to address uncertainties, we performed Monte Carlo iterations. We computed the percentage increase in GS (land use) and tree cover and converted them into Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to conduct the HIA, employing a Generalized Additive Model (GAM). We used the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) coupled with the urban parameterizations “Building Effect Parameterization” (BEP) and “Building Energy Model” (BEM) for temperature modelling. Hourly temperatures from 25/06/2015 to 25/07/2015 were simulated, both with and without Green Corridors Plan implementation. Results: City-wide implementation of the Green Corridors plan would increase average GS by 3.64 % (IQR: 2.17 % − 4.40 %) and NDVI by 0.286 (IQR: 0.256–0.304) per census tract. This could potentially prevent 178 premature deaths annually (95 % CI: 116–247), equating to 13 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (95 % CI: 9–19). The average daily temperature reduction per census tract was estimated at 0.05 °C, with a maximum reduction of 0.42 °C. Temperature reduction could potentially prevent 5 deaths during the simulated month. Additionally, we estimated a mean decrease in the thermal stress of 0.11 °C, reaching up to 1.48 °C at its peak. Conclusion: The Green Corridors plan can make significant contributions to a healthier urban environment. To address climate and especially heat impacts, complementary strategies to achieve more substantial temperature reduction are needed. Overall, our findings underscore the potential of nature-based solutions (NbS), exemplified by the Green Corridors Plan, in creating more sustainable and health-promoting urban environments.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000649Nature-based solutionsHealth impact assessmentGreen spacesHeatPremature mortalityBarcelona |
| spellingShingle | Tamara Iungman Sergi Ventura Caballé Ricard Segura-Barrero Marta Cirach Natalie Mueller Carolyn Daher Gara Villalba Evelise Pereira Barboza Mark Nieuwenhuijsen Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan Environment International Nature-based solutions Health impact assessment Green spaces Heat Premature mortality Barcelona |
| title | Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan |
| title_full | Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan |
| title_fullStr | Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan |
| title_short | Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan |
| title_sort | co benefits of nature based solutions a health impact assessment of the barcelona green corridor eixos verds plan |
| topic | Nature-based solutions Health impact assessment Green spaces Heat Premature mortality Barcelona |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000649 |
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