As centres of population and human activities, nowadays urban environments are simultaneously the main cause of and solution to a growing number of health-related challenges. In this setting, COVID-19 pandemic has helped reiterate this and has served as a wake-up call and an opportunity to rethink the way we approach cities. The present study has taken up this challenge by researching new strategies for the delineation of “future-proof” and salutogenic urban scenarios, meaning capable of promoting and enabling healthy and sustainable lifestyles for long-term individual and global resilience. In the first part, it has questioned literature about key direct and indirect pathways to health in cities, finding important suggestions in the so-called urban proximity dimension, and has explored five international case studies centred on the latter. In the second part, the development of a quanti-qualitative matrix of comparison of the case studies has allowed to outline criteria for a universal sustainable urban model, along with a methodology to measure all cities in its respect. Such model, which is about creating inclusive walkable and cycling environments where people can access all basic destinations within reasonable times and distances from home, has later been applied to the urban context of Milan. The analysis of the city has been carried out with GIS (Geographic Information System) software and, by focusing on selected urban features’ mapping and layering, has returned significant images of the city whose importance is twofold: first, they show city-wide degrees of accessibility to services in a condition of proximity, a necessary and solid basis for further, and more localised, investigation; second, they identify where and how action is needed, highlighting the value of integrated analysis in view of shaping public policies and informed planning choices which put health and sustainability at the centre.
Fulcri della popolazione e delle attività umane, gli ambienti urbani odierni costituiscono allo stesso tempo la principale causa e soluzione rispetto ad un numero crescente di problematiche connesse alla salute. In questo contesto, la pandemia di COVID-19 ha contribuito a ribadire questo aspetto e funge da campanello di allarme ed opportunità per ripensare il modo con cui ci rapportiamo con le città. Il presente studio ha accolto questa sfida ponendosi l’obiettivo di ricercare nuove strategie per la definizione di scenari urbani “a prova di futuro” e salutogenici, ovvero capaci di promuovere e consentire l’adozione di stili di vita sani e sostenibili che rafforzino a lungo termine la resilienza sia individuale che globale. Nella prima parte ha interrogato la letteratura sulle maggiori vie, dirette e indirette, per perseguire la salute in città, trovando suggerimenti importanti nella cosiddetta dimensione urbana di prossimità, ed ha esplorato cinque casi studio internazionali incentrati su quest’ultima. Nella seconda parte, lo sviluppo di una matrice quanti-qualitativa di confronto tra i casi studio ha permesso di delineare i criteri per un modello urbano sostenibile universale, insieme ad una metodologia per indagare le città nei riguardi di esso. Tale modello, che ambisce a creare ambienti inclusivi, dove ognuno possa raggiungere a piedi o in bicicletta tutte le destinazioni essenziali entro tempi e distanze ragionevoli dalla propria casa, è stato in seguito applicato al contesto urbano di Milano. L’analisi della città è stata effettuata tramite software GIS (Geographic Information System) e, attraverso la mappatura e stratificazione di specifici elementi urbani, ha restituito immagini della città la cui importanza è duplice: in primo luogo, esse mostrano diversi livelli di accessibilità ai servizi in condizione di prossimità su scala urbana, base solida e necessaria per analisi successive più circoscritte; in secondo luogo, identificano dove e come è maggiormente necessario agire, sottolineando il valore dell’analisi integrata nell’ottica di indirizzare politiche pubbliche e scelte progettuali consapevoli che mettano al centro la salute e la sostenibilità.
(Re)thinking proximity for future proof salutogenic cities. International best practices and application to the Milanese context
Crespi, Francesca
2019/2020
Abstract
As centres of population and human activities, nowadays urban environments are simultaneously the main cause of and solution to a growing number of health-related challenges. In this setting, COVID-19 pandemic has helped reiterate this and has served as a wake-up call and an opportunity to rethink the way we approach cities. The present study has taken up this challenge by researching new strategies for the delineation of “future-proof” and salutogenic urban scenarios, meaning capable of promoting and enabling healthy and sustainable lifestyles for long-term individual and global resilience. In the first part, it has questioned literature about key direct and indirect pathways to health in cities, finding important suggestions in the so-called urban proximity dimension, and has explored five international case studies centred on the latter. In the second part, the development of a quanti-qualitative matrix of comparison of the case studies has allowed to outline criteria for a universal sustainable urban model, along with a methodology to measure all cities in its respect. Such model, which is about creating inclusive walkable and cycling environments where people can access all basic destinations within reasonable times and distances from home, has later been applied to the urban context of Milan. The analysis of the city has been carried out with GIS (Geographic Information System) software and, by focusing on selected urban features’ mapping and layering, has returned significant images of the city whose importance is twofold: first, they show city-wide degrees of accessibility to services in a condition of proximity, a necessary and solid basis for further, and more localised, investigation; second, they identify where and how action is needed, highlighting the value of integrated analysis in view of shaping public policies and informed planning choices which put health and sustainability at the centre.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/175981