Global climate change is expected to pose increasing challenges for cities in the following decades, placing greater stress and impacts on multiple social and biophysical systems, including population health, coastal development, urban infrastructure, energy demand, and water supplies. Simultaneously, a strong global trend towards urbanisation of poverty exists, with increased challenges for urban populations and local governance to protect and sustain the wellbeing of growing cities. In the context of these 2 overarching trends, interdisciplinary research at the city scale is prioritised for understanding the social impacts of climate change and variability and for the evaluation of strategies in the built environment that might serve as adaptive responses to climate change. This article discusses 2 recent initiatives of The Earth Institute at Columbia University (EI) as examples of research that integrates the methods and objectives of several disciplines, including environmental health science and urban planning, to understand the potential public health impacts of global climate change and mitigative measures for the more localised effects of the urban heat island in the New York City metropolitan region. These efforts embody 2 distinct research approaches. The New York Climate & Health Project created a new integrated modeling system to assess the public health impacts of climate and land use change in the metropolitan region. The Cool City Project aims for more applied policy-oriented research that incorporates the local knowledge of community residents to understand the costs and benefits of interventions in the built environment that might serve to mitigate the harmful impacts of climate change and variability, and protect urban populations from health stressors associated with summertime heat. Both types of research are potentially useful for understanding the impacts of environmental change at the urban scale, the policies needed to address these challenges, and to train scholars capable of collaborative approaches across the social and biophysical sciences.
City Planning ; Environment ; Environment Design ; Greenhouse Effect ; New York City ; Research ; Urban Health

Recently, Sejong City had been in the center of a policy dispute about city planning in Korea. Although Sejong City was chosen to be a new Multifunctional Administrative City in 2006, politicians continued to challenge the decision at the city level from 2009 upto 2010.This study aims to investigate what influences, such as the policy dispute, impacted the health behaviors and the mental health of local people. We used the survey data from the Community Health Survey in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 and compared the results through logistic regression analysis and direct standardization. Data were gathered from residents in Chungcheongnam-do, the province where Sejong City is located. Data from residents of four other provinces were used as a control: Gangwon-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeonlanam-do, and Gyeonggi-do. We found a significant increase in smoking and drinking rates in the residents of Chungcheongnam-do, which are indicators of health behaviors, in the year of 2009 when the Sejong City dispute erupted. It appears that controversial changes in government policy could have negative influences on local people. Therefore, we need proper measures to prevent them.
City Planning ; Dissent and Disputes ; Drinking ; Health Behavior ; Health Surveys ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mental Health ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that neighborhood environments influence levels of health and disease in individuals. Evidence suggests that green environments have positive effects on physical and psychological health. In this study, we examined the association between public park per person (PPP) and physical activity in 7 large Korean cities with a population of over 1 million. METHODS: We obtained data from the third Korea National Health and Nutritional Survey and data on the area of PPP from the Korean national statistics office. RESULTS: Physical activity and adjusted mean of physical activity increased significantly with PPP. When stratified by family income, physical activity increased significantly in all groups in a PPP-dependent manner. Physical activity significantly increased as PPP increased (coefficient, 16.025; 95% confidence interval, 12.392 to 19.658) before and after adjustment for age, sex, and family income. Physical activity increased in all income groups including the low income group. CONCLUSION: These results show that green park spaces independently promote physical activity and influence healthy lifestyles. Therefore, the importance of PPP for physical activity and health should be emphasized in urban planning.
City Planning ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Motor Activity ; Nutrition Surveys ; Public Health ; Residence Characteristics

City Planning ; Environment Design ; Environmental Exposure ; prevention & control ; Global Health ; Greenhouse Effect ; Humans ; Social Justice ; Urban Health ; Urbanization ; trends

Childhood obesity has rapidly increased in Korea during the past 20-30 years. Approximately 1 of 10 children and adolescents is obese. Appropriate prevention and intervention measures urgently need. Obesity prevention starts early in life, i.e., obesity prevention and education begins during the period of fetal development in utero. Behavioral changes are the most positively reflected during pregnancy. Infants should be fed breast milk, and inculcated with healthy eating and behavioral habits during infancy to ultimately establish a healthy lifestyle in children. For achieving a lifestyle and behavior that successfully allow children to overcome obesity, although individual motivation is important, active support of parents and family members is also imperative. Health care providers should also make an effort to actively prevent obesity and take necessary intervention actions. Although the efforts of individuals, family, and healthy care providers are important to prevent the rapid increase in obesity, primary prevention should be encouraged at a higher level. Schools should specifically aim at improving nutrition and physical activity by allocating times for healthy eating, playing, and physical education. Moreover, local communities should provide support by funding for safe recreational environments, such as playgrounds and walking tracks. Public health strategies in community and national policies, such as city planning, food marketing, and advertisements, are required for primary prevention of obesity.
Adolescent ; Child ; City Planning ; Eating ; Fetal Development ; Financial Management ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Infant ; Korea ; Life Style ; Marketing ; Milk, Human ; Motivation ; Motor Activity ; Obesity ; Parents ; Physical Education and Training ; Pregnancy ; Primary Prevention ; Public Health ; Track and Field ; Walking