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Which urban land covers/uses are associated with residents' mortality? A cross-sectional, ecological, pan-European study of 233 cities

Which urban land covers/uses are associated with residents' mortality? A cross-sectional, ecological, pan-European study of 233 cities
Which urban land covers/uses are associated with residents' mortality? A cross-sectional, ecological, pan-European study of 233 cities

' Objectives The study aim was to determine whether the range and distribution of all, and proportions of specific, land covers/uses within European cities are associated with city-specific mortality rates. ' Setting 233 European cities within 24 countries. ' Participants Aggregated city-level all-cause and age-group standardised mortality ratio for males and females separately and Western or Eastern European Region. ' Results The proportion of specific land covers/uses within a city was related to mortality, displaying differences by macroregion and sex. The land covers/uses associated with lower standardised mortality ratio (SMR) for both Western and Eastern European cities were those characterised by 'natural' green space, such as forests and semi-natural areas (Western Female coefficient: -18.3, 95% CI -29.8 to -6.9). Dense housing was related to a higher SMR, most prominently in Western European cities (Western Female coefficient: 17.4, 95% CI 9.6 to 25.2). ' Conclusions There is pressure to build on urban natural spaces, both for economic gain and because compact cities are regarded as more sustainable, yet here we offer evidence that doing so may detract from residents' health. Our study suggests that urban planners and developers need to regard retaining more wild and unstructured green space as important for healthy city systems.

epidemiology, public health, statistics & research methods
2044-6055
Olsen, Jonathan R.
fe74760c-dd70-4e65-937a-a9c883ab71d6
Nicholls, Natalie
b3130fea-a48a-4ee4-986f-23b38c7b2007
Moon, Graham
68cffc4d-72c1-41e9-b1fa-1570c5f3a0b4
Pearce, Jamie
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Shortt, Niamh
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Mitchell, Richard
5b80b839-b47e-4f1c-8c9a-bc1990f03eff
Olsen, Jonathan R.
fe74760c-dd70-4e65-937a-a9c883ab71d6
Nicholls, Natalie
b3130fea-a48a-4ee4-986f-23b38c7b2007
Moon, Graham
68cffc4d-72c1-41e9-b1fa-1570c5f3a0b4
Pearce, Jamie
0ecdb34b-6174-4814-bc1d-ab23c6f420d7
Shortt, Niamh
38314049-88bb-4666-b149-fc75efca516b
Mitchell, Richard
5b80b839-b47e-4f1c-8c9a-bc1990f03eff

Olsen, Jonathan R., Nicholls, Natalie, Moon, Graham, Pearce, Jamie, Shortt, Niamh and Mitchell, Richard (2019) Which urban land covers/uses are associated with residents' mortality? A cross-sectional, ecological, pan-European study of 233 cities. BMJ Open, 9 (11), [e033623]. (doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033623).

Record type: Article

Abstract

' Objectives The study aim was to determine whether the range and distribution of all, and proportions of specific, land covers/uses within European cities are associated with city-specific mortality rates. ' Setting 233 European cities within 24 countries. ' Participants Aggregated city-level all-cause and age-group standardised mortality ratio for males and females separately and Western or Eastern European Region. ' Results The proportion of specific land covers/uses within a city was related to mortality, displaying differences by macroregion and sex. The land covers/uses associated with lower standardised mortality ratio (SMR) for both Western and Eastern European cities were those characterised by 'natural' green space, such as forests and semi-natural areas (Western Female coefficient: -18.3, 95% CI -29.8 to -6.9). Dense housing was related to a higher SMR, most prominently in Western European cities (Western Female coefficient: 17.4, 95% CI 9.6 to 25.2). ' Conclusions There is pressure to build on urban natural spaces, both for economic gain and because compact cities are regarded as more sustainable, yet here we offer evidence that doing so may detract from residents' health. Our study suggests that urban planners and developers need to regard retaining more wild and unstructured green space as important for healthy city systems.

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Accepted/In Press date: 22 October 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 November 2019
Published date: November 2019
Keywords: epidemiology, public health, statistics & research methods

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 436218
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/436218
ISSN: 2044-6055
PURE UUID: 56a8524f-d508-4ea1-a765-63f900d058b6
ORCID for Graham Moon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7256-8397

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Date deposited: 04 Dec 2019 17:30
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:44

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Contributors

Author: Jonathan R. Olsen
Author: Natalie Nicholls
Author: Graham Moon ORCID iD
Author: Jamie Pearce
Author: Niamh Shortt
Author: Richard Mitchell

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