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City Know-hows
Indicators can inform city planning decisions that contribute to healthy, climate resilient urban environments. We review contributing factors of healthy and climate resilient cities and the diverse range of indicators that exist. We discuss the need to measure and guide adaptation and transformation of cities internationally.
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Target audience
Urban policymakers, public health policymakers, civil society
The problem
Health and climate change are interwoven issues that are among the most pressing challenges for cities. City planning needs to focus on enhancing urban resilience in the face of climate change and its health impacts. Indicators can measure how policies and built environments support healthy, climate resilient cities. To inform planning and research, there is a need to review contributing factors and existing indicators of healthy, climate resilient cities.
What we did and why
Through a literature review, we summarize key contributing factors of healthy, climate resilient urban environments and how these have been measured. Our study adopts a holistic approach to explore how health and climate change co-benefits could be monitored and achieved in cities. We identify indicators that have been used to measure how policies and built environments support healthy, climate resilient cities. This provides valuable insights for planning, prioritization and monitoring of cities internationally.
Our study’s contribution
Our study clarifies contributing factors of healthy and climate resilient urban environments, from a holistic viewpoint. It:
• Identifies and categorizes the large number and variety of indicators of healthy, climate resilient cities
• Highlights indicator gaps and measurement considerations
• Contributes to understanding what is needed to guide policy progress towards healthy, climate resilient cities
Impacts for city policy and practice
City planning needs to reduce the health impacts of climate-related hazards:
• Key priorities are delivering green space, robust buildings, access to diverse amenities, and low-carbon transport; and policymaking processes that promote urban climate resilience.
• Indicators can uncover policy gaps and inequalities in access to healthy, climate resilient urban environments, to inform policy and practice.
• Indicators should be selected based on local relevance, data availability and ability to be validly measured at the appropriate scale.
Further information
Full research article:
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