Public Health and Well-being in Public Open Spaces through Climate Responsive Urban Planning and Design

Abstract

The urban fabric enables people to move between climate-controlled environments (such as home and indoors work) and non-controlled ones (such as parks and beaches). The planning and design of urban spaces, on the other hand, largely define the way we live and affect our health as it can, for instance, promote or hinder active lifestyles and social cohesion (Owen, 2009; Speck, 2012). But even when the cities have compact built form and provide key features and infrastructure conducive to healthy lifestyles, local climate can indirectly dictate and restrict the use of public open spaces if the weather is prohibitive (Tavares & Swaffield, 2017). Climate responsive urban planning and design is, therefore, key to secure a healthy urban lifestyle (Barton, Thompson, Burgess, & Grant, 2015; Kent et al., 2017; Mouratidis, 2017) especially in light of frequency and severity of extreme weather events.