Commentary: A road map for future data-driven urban planning and environmental health research

Georgia M.C. Dyer1,2,3, Sasha Khomenko1,2,3, Deepti Adlakha4, Susan Anenberg5, Julianna Angelova6, Martin Behnisch7, Geoff Boeing8, Xuan Chen9, Marta Cirach1,2,3, Kees de Hoogh10, Ana V. Diez Roux11, Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez12, Benjamin Flueckiger10, Antonio Gasparrini13, Tamara Iungman1,2,3, Haneen Khreis14, Michelle C. Kondo15, Pierre Masselot13, Robert I. McDonald16, Federica Montana1,2,3, Rich Mitchell17, Natalie Mueller1,2,3, M. Omar Nawaz5, Evelise Pereira1,2,3, Enrico Pisoni18, Rafael Prieto-Curiel19, Nazanin Rezaei20, Diego Rybski21, José J. Ramasco22, Rossano Schifanella23, Saif Shabou24, Lambed Tatah14, Hannes Taubenböck25, Cathryn Tonne1,2,3, Daniel Velázquez-Cortés1,2,3, James Woodcock14, Qin Zhang26 and Mark Nieuwenhuijsen1,2,3
1Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
2Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
3CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
4Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 5, 2628 Delft, Netherlands
5George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, 20052, New Hampshire Avenue, Washington, District of Colombia, United States
6Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Blvd, Fort Myers, 33965 Florida, United States
7Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, Weberpl 1, 01217 Dresden, Germany
8University of Southern California, 90007 Los Angeles, United States
9Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 8, 3584 Utrecht, Netherlands
10Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
11Drexel University, 3215 Market Street, 19104 Philadelphia, PA, United States
12Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith 2751, New South Wales, Australia
13London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, WC1E 7HT, London, United Kingdom
14MRC Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge University, CB2 0AH Cambridge, United Kingdom
15USDA-Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 100 North 20th Street, Ste 205, 19103 Philadelphia, PA, United States
16The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, 22203 Virginia, United States
17Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, 90 Byres Road, Glasgow G20 0TY, United Kingdom
18European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 2749 Ispra, Italy
19Complexity Science Hub Vienna, Josefstädter Strasse 39, 1080 Vienna, Austria
20University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, 95064 California, United States
21Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
22Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar and Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC-UIB), 07122 Palma, Spain
23University of Turin, Via Giuseppe Verdi 8, 10124, Italy
24World Resources Institute, 10 G Street, NE Suite 800, 20002 Washington, DC, United States
25German Aerospace Centre, Linder Höhe, 51147 Köln, Germany
26Technical University of Munich Institute for Advanced Study, Lichtenbergstrasse 2a, 85748 Garching, Germany

(December 2024)

Recent advances in data science and urban environmental health research utilise large-scale databases (100s-1000s of cities) to explore the complex interplay of urban characteristics such as city form and size, climate, mobility, exposure, and environmental health impacts. Cities are still hotspots of air pollution and noise, suffer urban heat island effects and lack of green space, which leads to disease and mortality burdens preventable with better knowledge. Better understanding through harmonising and analysing data in large numbers of cities is essential to identifying the most effective means of disease prevention and understanding context dependencies important for policy.

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