Planetary health approaches for dry cities: water quality and heat mitigation
The report show how holistic approaches can counter the health and wellbeing problems associated with urban dryness in water sensitive cities.
Over the past decade, city planners, water authorities, practitioners, and researchers in Australia have collaborated to envision “water sensitive cities” and their principles are now emerging in city design. This new model has emerged in scientific, policy, and practice domains and is embodied in concepts such as integrated water cycle management. This is a vision of holistic urban water management incorporating physical and social dimensions, including water availability for potable and non-potable uses such as industry and agriculture; safety from flooding; safety from waterborne diseases and urban heat; health and wellbeing associated with biodiversity and ecological health; and social cohesion associated with green public spaces.
The potential health benefits of a water sensitive approach are not confined to dry cities.
- Evidence based policy drawing on the many dimensions of urban design and water management could improve the health and wellbeing of all communities.
- Water sensitive city approaches highlight the intrinsic link between ecological and population health, and how urban water management can benefit both aspects.
- They also highlight the importance of supporting physical interventions by building or strengthening social resilience, through greater community awareness and society’s capacity for fostering transformative change.
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