Improving health in cities through systems approaches for urban water management

Environmental Health

Research

R. Biswas¹  L. C. Rietveld²  A. M. Arsénio²  I. Chakravarty³  A. Chatterjee⁴  J. G. Siri⁵ 

[1] Austrian Institute of Technology, Vienna, Austria;Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands;Public Health Engineering Department, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata, India;School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, India;United Nations University International Institute for Global Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;

关键词: City planning;    Systems theory;    Urban health;    Urban sanitation;    Waterborne diseases;    Water supply;    Recreation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12940-016-0107-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAs human populations become more and more urban, decision-makers at all levels face new challenges related to both the scale of service provision and the increasing complexity of cities and the networks that connect them. These challenges may take on unique aspects in cities with different cultures, political and institutional frameworks, and at different levels of development, but they frequently have in common an origin in the interaction of human and environmental systems and the feedback relationships that govern their dynamic evolution. Accordingly, systems approaches are becoming recognized as critical to understanding and addressing such complex problems, including those related to human health and wellbeing. Management of water resources in and for cities is one area where such approaches hold real promise.ResultsThis paper seeks to summarize links between water and health in cities and outline four main elements of systems approaches: analytic methods to deal with complexity, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and multi-scale thinking. Using case studies from a range of urban socioeconomic and regional contexts (Maputo, Mozambique; Surat and Kolkata, India; and Vienna, Austria).ConclusionWe show how the inclusion of these elements can lead to better research design, more effective policy and better outcomes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Rietveld et al. 2016