Volume 12, June 2015, Pages 104–118
If you don’t know how can you plan? Considering the health impacts of climate change in urban planning in Australia
Highlights
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- We interview current urban planners about the health impacts of climate change.
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- Planners believe that the health impacts of climate change need to be planned for.
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- Currently little is being done to plan for the health impacts of climate change.
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- Australia is overlooking public health opportunities to address climate health risks.
Abstract
Climate
change is likely to adversely affect population health through its
impacts on diseases already of concern. How cities respond will largely
determine its impact on the community.
Results of 42
interviews with urban planners in Australia show that while they are
aware of climate change as a general concern, they are not aware of the
various ways in which it may impact on human health. Planning for
climate change tends to focus on impacts on infrastructure (i.e. sea
level rise) with little or no planning aimed at human health adaptation
for city residents. Australia risks overlooking key public health
opportunities that would address both contemporary health concerns and
future health risks from climate change.
Keywords
- Climate change;
- Urban planning;
- Human health
1. Introduction
Virtually
from the very beginnings of settlement planning, the health of the
population has been a central theme. This concept is underlined in the
introduction to the book ‘Health and Community Design’ with a quote from
Aristotle circa 350 B.C. “We ought to plan the ideal of our city
with an eye to four considerations. The first, as being the most
indispensable, is health.” ( Frank et al., 2003).
Further, public health reforms of the late 19th century Europe and
North America are behind urban planning reforms such as segregated
zoning 1 that continue to underpin many of the existing land use practices seen in modern cities ( Ferriman, 2007, Bankoff, 2001, Thompson, 2007 and McCue and Thompson, 2012).
However, from these land-use practices have sprung unintended
consequences, what may be described as public health or planning
maladaptations. The segregation of workplaces from housing, when
incorporated with the increasing affordability of motor vehicles and the
prioritisation by planners of mobility over accessibility has led to an
over reliance on the private motor vehicle. This example of planning
maladaptation has contributed to climate change and reduced walkability
and daily physical activity while increasing the susceptibility of urban
dwellers to the impacts of climate change ( Haines, 2008, British Medical Association, 2012, Saelens et al., 2003 and Owen et al., 2007).
While
there is evidence that suggests those involved with health recognise
the “crucial part played by urban planners and engineers in health
improvement” through “the sanitary revolution” (Ferriman, 2007 and Rao et al., 2007) there appears now to be a significant disconnect between urban planning and health (Corburn, 2004 and Barton and Grant, 2006).
This disconnect is not new and continues to manifest itself in
Australia, where cities are often planned around the dominant priorities
of transport (private automobiles) and the economics of new suburban
growth (Newman, 1992)
rather than the health and well being of people who live in them. Thus
active transport infrastructure like footpaths and cycle paths are not
seen as essential for transport or health and well being of the
community but rather a cost on development. However the recent
development of the “Healthy Spaces and Places” guideline and associated
professional training package [a reference tool for planners that
assists them to incorporate healthy and active living design principals]
is a step towards the profession reengaging the health and well being
of the community through planning (Planning Institute of Australia, 2009).
This
reengagement with public health is perhaps now more important than ever
when climate change, described as a public health threat on a scale
with tobacco smoke (Nilsson et al., 2012)
is introduced. In this context, it is the way that cities respond to
and adapt to climate change that will have a major influence on how the
health of their populations will be affected (Bambrick et al., 2011).
But is urban planning up to the task? What do urban planners understand
about the health impacts of climate change? How will our cities adapt
to climate change and, more importantly how will they, the cities, help
their residents cope with climate change?
Climate
change is unlikely to cause new health problems for city populations,
rather it will exacerbate existing urban health problems (Bambrick et al., 2008 and Friel et al., 2011).
The health impacts of climate change will be influenced by a range of
factors such as environment, socioeconomic circumstances (at country,
regional and personal level), infrastructural and institutional
resources, underlying physical vulnerabilities and local preventive
(adaptive) strategies.
This
will be particularly significant in Australia which already experiences
climate extremes in temperature and rainfall that are projected to
become even more extreme (Climate Commission, 2011, Bureau of Meterology, 2012, CSIRO, 2007 and Climate Commission, 2013) and which is one of the most highly urbanised countries in the world with over 89% of the population living in cities (Commonwealth of Australia, 2010). With the Australian population projected to grow 40% to 35 million by around mid-century (Commonwealth of Australia 2010.)
the way Australian cities perform environmentally, socially,
economically and physically will determine the magnitude of the health
impacts from climate change. While the health system will have its role
to play in planning services to mitigate these health impacts (Burton et al., 2014 and Ebi et al., 2006),
it will be those who are tasked with planning our cities, working in
collaboration with public health officials, who may yet have the
greatest role in mitigating the health impacts of climate change (Capon, 2010 and Frumkin, 2002). Bambrick et al. (2011)
identified that cities “provide adaptation opportunities to improve on
today’s public health and not simply reduce negative health consequences
[of climate change].”(Bambrick et al., 2011).
We
present a study detailing awareness of and attitudes towards climate
change among Australian urban planners, in particular their awareness of
the potential health impacts of climate change, and their willingness
and capacity to incorporate climate change into their plans. This study
identifies a number of knowledge gaps among planners that could reduce
Australia’s capacity for urban adaptation. Findings from this study will
assist in the development of tools for increasing the preparedness of
planners to consider and therefore manage the health impacts of climate
change in their work, as good urban planning is a key facilitator of
climate adaptation for health.
