Editor’s choice
Feature / A novel study by SEI researchers unveils the psychophysiological responses to walking in the cities of Nakuru, Kenya and Udon Thani, Thailand.
Feature / Join SEI researchers in this new podcast series as they explore the pressing issues around how rapidly growing cities are affecting our well-being.
Feature / City planning needs to consider livability and resident well-being alongside equality of environmental and economic development.
Feature / SEI Africa has embarked on a plan to deploy air quality sensors in the town of Nakuru in Kenya's Rift Valley to measure the quality of health for residents.
Perspective / This perspective highlights three major solutions to address the challenges faced by low-income and vulnerable transport users in African cities.
SEI brief / The Urban Toolbox has been designed to address the challenges urban stakeholders face in accessing user-friendly resources with clear guidance for usage.
Journal article / Researchers analysed the mental and physical responses of people walking in urban settings in cities in Kenya and Thailand, with unexpected results.
SEI brief / This SEI discussion brief outlines principles for designing and implementing nature-based solutions that are just and equitable.
Journal article / This paper explores the links between urban public realm spaces, both natural and built, and residents' wellbeing in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).
Journal article / To ensure future sustainability, cities need to consider concepts of livability and resident wellbeing alongside environmental and economic development equity.
Rapidly growing cities represent unique challenges and opportunities. Unplanned growth often outpaces infrastructure development and occurs at the expense of a city’s ecological foundations, undermining residents’ wellbeing and the city’s sustainability.
The SEI Initiative on City Health and Well-being uses novel approaches to investigate how evolving cities are affecting the well-being of residents and how this interacts with the overall health of city systems: What makes a city healthy for its residents? Could citizens be actively engaged in monitoring the health of their city? These are some of the central questions informing our initiative case study activities in Asia and Africa.
Novel methods of data generation and collection have been employed across four interconnected activities in two case study locations (Nakuru in Kenya and Udon Thani in Thailand). These activities are:
The research is contributing to a rethink of urban development practices. The knowledge generated through this action research and boundary partner engagement will inform sustainable and participatory planning for urban environments.
The new evidence we generate will be aimed at guiding policy recommendations to equitably maximize the well-being of urban populations while minimizing resource consumption and without undermining their resilience.
SEI brief / This initiative investigates how rapidly growing cities affect residents' wellbeing and how this interacts with the overall health of city systems.
In 2022, the Initiative enters its third phase. In Phase 2, SEI investigated the links between urban environments and wellbeing using a range of low-cost environmental sensors. Through activities with local residents, we developed an understanding of their preferences for urban greening, and the potential benefits and barriers to implementing this. We worked with local stakeholders to explore how these findings can be integrated into urban planning, which enabled residents in our case study cities to engage more effectively with their local and national government on services to improve their living conditions.
In Phase 3 we will complete the analysis of data and reporting of these important and novel findings. We will also bring our methods, approaches and case studies together into an urban ‘toolbox’ that can be used widely by people involved in urban planning, such as city authorities. Through a series of workshops, we will explore stakeholder’s preferred content and format for such a toolbox, to ensure that it meets their needs. Other SEI urban-related tools will also be included where appropriate. We will strengthen relationships with our local and international partners, and also build new networks, to ensure that our results and methods are used widely to maximize health and wellbeing equity.
Feature / City planning needs to consider livability and resident well-being alongside equality of environmental and economic development.
Feature / SEI Africa has embarked on a plan to deploy air quality sensors in the town of Nakuru in Kenya's Rift Valley to measure the quality of health for residents.
Perspective / This perspective highlights three major solutions to address the challenges faced by low-income and vulnerable transport users in African cities.
Feature / In cities, congestion increases automobile emissions, which ultimately degrades ambient air quality.
Media coverage / Diane Archer, SEI Asia in a short interview with Thomson Reuters.
The City Health and Well-being Podcast Series is an engaging exploration of the intersection between rapid urban growth, resident well-being, and the sustainability of city systems. Hosted by Vishal Mehta and featuring SEI researchers, this captivating series sheds light on the complexities and challenges faced by cities in our rapidly urbanizing world.
As an outcome of the SEI Initiative on City Health and Well-being (CHeW), this podcast series serves as a platform to explore innovative solutions and strategies for creating more equitable, livable, and enjoyable cities that prioritize the health and well-being of their inhabitants.
In each episode, Vishal Mehta engages in thought-provoking conversations with SEI colleagues who have conducted extensive research to address these pressing challenges as part of the SEI Initiative on City Health and Well-being. Together, they delve into the intricacies of urban growth, well-being, and sustainability, offering valuable insights and perspectives on shaping healthier and happier cities for the future.
Find out more about the City Health and Well-being Podcast episodes and where to stream it to access the wealth of knowledge and expertise from this Initiative.
Feature / Join SEI researchers in this new podcast series as they explore the pressing issues around how rapidly growing cities are affecting our well-being.
The SEI Urban Toolbox for Liveable Cities is a comprehensive resource designed to address the challenges of urban development while promoting equity, sustainability, and residents’ well-being. This toolbox, developed by SEI as part of the City Health and Well-being (CHeW) Initiative, offers a range of tools, methodologies, frameworks, and case studies for urban stakeholders to support decision-making in urban contexts.
The Urban Toolbox covers various thematic areas, including residents’ well-being, neighbourhood conditions, environmental quality and ecosystem services, and cross-cutting issues.Tools within these themes focus on aspects such as access to water, mobility, livelihoods, and vulnerability, as well as addressing challenges like crime, sanitation, and tourism.
Hosted on the weADAPT platform, the Urban Toolbox facilitates collaboration, knowledge exchange, and networking among urban stakeholders. It allows for the sharing of experiences, case studies, and best practices, fostering inclusivity and supporting collective action.
The Urban Toolbox is a living resource that will be continually updated with new tools as they emerge. This dynamic nature ensures that the toolbox remains relevant and up-to-date, addressing evolving urban development challenges. Join the community of urban stakeholders, contribute your insights, and take steps towards advancing equitable and sustainable urban development!
To explore the SEI Urban Toolbox for Liveable Cities and access its valuable resources, tools, and case studies, visit hosting platform weADAPT, and read the Urban Toolbox Brief.
SEI brief / The Urban Toolbox has been designed to address the challenges urban stakeholders face in accessing user-friendly resources with clear guidance for usage.
Feature / Join SEI researchers in this new podcast series as they explore the pressing issues around how rapidly growing cities are affecting our well-being.
Green spaces and walkable urban pathways are important for residents’ physical and mental health, as well as having ecological benefits, and can also help to reach goals for sustainable and healthy urban lifestyles. However, it is a big challenge to conserve green spaces in Udon Thani because of competing demands on land and finance.
We asked Udon Thani’s residents about their experience of walking around the neighbourhood and what challenges they face when doing so and asked them for suggestions on what would improve their walking habits. We used two interactive methods – photovoice and mental mapping – to understand the enablers and barriers to walking.
Read more in this feature:
Feature / SEI is partnering with local people in the city of Udon Thani in northeast Thailand to find creative ways to improve the urban environment.
Can citizen-led monitoring help local governments manage cities better and improve services to people? This was the question CHeW investigated through environmental monitoring using citizen science techniques.
SEI supported environmental leaders from a community in Nakuru, Kenya using a data collection app called Epicollect to map out environmental challenges facing their local area. EpiCollect enables questionnaires to be created which are then accessible on mobile phones. User responses to questions are linked to their locations using the phone’s GPS.
Between April and June 2019, a group of 15 Environment Champions surveyed their neighbourhood (called Free Area) taking pictures of problem areas and documenting the status of them over the time-period. The SEI team helped co-organize information collection activities and afterwards shared findings back to the community and local government representatives including public health officers, County Government and County Assembly, Nakuru Water and Sewerage Company (NAWASCO), ward administrators, garbage collectors and the Area Chief, during a workshop held in mid-2019.
The survey brought a focus on the dominant issues which were related to waste (open dumping) and water and drainage (leaking/broken water and sewer pipes, and open or unsafe manholes). The data from the survey was also mapped so that users are able to identify where the problems were and to help the relevant authorities resolve them.
Nakuru, Kenya is a town of about 500,000 people, northwest of Nairobi on the shores of Lake Nakuru. The image above shows a snapshot of the environmental monitoring by the people of Free Area neighborhood. Click on the image to open an interactive visualization (on a separate webpage).
Before data collection (left) and an example completed map for one neighbourhood (right).
Photo: Steve Cinderby / SEI
This is one example of how, through the CHeW initiative, SEI is striving to catalyze citizen-led activities within rapidly growing cities and to embed them into improved urban governance practices.
Fluorosis is a widespread disease caused by excess Fluoride intake. The World Health Organization considers Fluoride as one of 10 chemicals of major public health concern. Fluorosis impairs dental and skeletal health, child development, and has other health consequences. Excess Fluoride in drinking water is the most common cause.
Fluoride occurs naturally in certain mineral geologic formations around the world. The East African Rift Valley is one of the global hotspots and in Nakuru county (Kenya), effects of Fluorosis were found in over 75% of people tested at 2 health facilities.
In addition, emerging contaminants, including pharmaceuticals in water bodies, are increasingly impacting environmental and human health. Exposure and impacts of these are less clearly understood.
A workshop was held on 18th June 2021, with participants drawn from Kenya (Nakuru), India, UK and USA. Funded by the University of York (UK), and organized by SEI, the workshop brought together international and local experts, practitioners and Nakuru city stakeholders with the aims of:
A summary workshop report will be available in Autumn 2021.
The workshop followed research undertaken during the earlier phase of the City Health and Well-being Initiative. A pilot survey was conducted by SEI (with support from Umande Trust) whereby water samples were taken from different neighborhoods in Nakuru to establish the levels of fluoride and other contaminants present.
Read about the study in the following feature.
Feature / Tackling health issues due to fluorosis in Kenya through South-South cooperation.
SEI brief / This SEI discussion brief outlines principles for designing and implementing nature-based solutions that are just and equitable.
Journal article / This paper explores the links between urban public realm spaces, both natural and built, and residents' wellbeing in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs).
Journal article / To ensure future sustainability, cities need to consider concepts of livability and resident wellbeing alongside environmental and economic development equity.
Journal article / This paper addresses challenges faced by LMICs using citizen science to enhance official data monitoring of SDGs.
Journal article / Urban sustainability is governed beyond the urban scale through trans-local networks and assemblages of actors and institutions.
Journal article / Using creative engagement methods can transform city planning and widen inclusion.
Journal article / This study seeks to fill in some gaps in groundwater data in India in an effort to measure how natural and man-made factors affect water supply levels.
Journal article / This study uses mobile electroencephalography (EEG) to understand the different impacts of busy, quiet and green urban spaces on brain activity.
Journal article / This article introduces the first issue of <i>Cities & Health</i> volume 4. It covers topics such as urban density, active travel and climate change adaptation.
Journal article / This exploratory study applies a standardized analysis framework to health and wellbeing metrics of cities in the UK, Sweden, Estonia, Kenya and Thailand.
SEI brief / This initiative investigates how rapidly growing cities affect residents' wellbeing and how this interacts with the overall health of city systems.
Feature / A novel study by SEI researchers unveils the psychophysiological responses to walking in the cities of Nakuru, Kenya and Udon Thani, Thailand.
Feature / City planning needs to consider livability and resident well-being alongside equality of environmental and economic development.
Feature / SEI Africa has embarked on a plan to deploy air quality sensors in the town of Nakuru in Kenya's Rift Valley to measure the quality of health for residents.
Feature / In cities, congestion increases automobile emissions, which ultimately degrades ambient air quality.
Perspective / This perspective highlights three major solutions to address the challenges faced by low-income and vulnerable transport users in African cities.
Perspective / What do practitioners need to be aware of when planning urban green infrastructure using digital tools to engage stakeholders?
Feature / SEI is partnering with local people in the city of Udon Thani in northeast Thailand to find creative ways to improve the urban environment.
Feature / SEI's Initiative on City Health and Wellbeing uses novel approaches to understand how growing cities can impact wellbeing.
Feature / Tackling health issues due to fluorosis in Kenya through South-South cooperation.
Feature / Udon Thani in Northern Thailand is a rapidly developing small city that is planning ahead to ensure its growth is green and sustainable.
Feature / Non-traditional urban planning tools – think art and poetry – underpin new ways of co-designing city infrastructure to address health and mobility issues.
Feature / For two years, an SEI-led team of researchers measured groundwater levels throughout the city in search of answers to Bangalore's water shortage.
Feature / SEI is helping develop legislation on air quality in Nairobi to improve the lives of the city’s most vulnerable people.
Feature / Bringing nature back to cities and workplaces - with Steve Cinderby, who has studied the positive connection between green spaces and well-being
Perspective / This perspective highlights three major solutions to address the challenges faced by low-income and vulnerable transport users in African cities.
Perspective / What do practitioners need to be aware of when planning urban green infrastructure using digital tools to engage stakeholders?
Perspective / Is there a connection between air quality, gender, and work?
Perspective / Accessible green space in cities supports good mental and physical health. Natural spaces in cities help mitigate climate change. Planners should take note.
Perspective / What does a healthy and liveable city look like? This initiative is working with residents of the Northern Thailand city of Udon Thani to find out.
Perspective / Will introducing green roofs, green walls, rain gardens and planting trees improve our cities?
Perspective / After decades of car-centred urban planning in the Tallinn, the city plans to give the centre back to its people and enliven urban culture.
Perspective / Uncontrolled growth, luxury construction and gentrification are driving out many residents and making life more difficult for all.
Heidi Tuhkanen from SEI’s Tallinn Centre shares results of a study in two secondary cities in the global south which assessed the well-being benefits derived from urban spaces. The presentation was given at the ClimateExp0 conference: an event for researchers to showcase recent international research relevant to decisions being made at COP26 in November 2021.
Heidi Tuhkanen presents an overview of the City Health and Wellbeing project for ClimateExp0, May 2021.
This poster by Heidi Tuhkanen, Steve Cinderby and Annemarieke de Bruin was also presented at the ClimateExp0 conference.
Climate Exp0 poster May 2021 – Click for PDF version
What do practitioners need to be aware of when planning urban green infrastructure using digital tools to engage stakeholders? This session at the Nature of Cities Festival 2021 aimed to crowdsource ideas on how we can overcome the current limitations related to virtual stakeholder engagement. A series of mini-presentations highlighted a range of virtual methods of engaging with stakeholders (from lower-tech to higher tech) in projects related to urban greening, as well as some of the issues that have been raised related to ethics.
Heidi Tuhkanen led this session at the Nature of Cities Festival 22-26 February 2021.
Also at the Nature of Cities Festival 2021, Diane Archer presented a microtalk on recognizing informal waste workers.
Diane Archer presented this microtalk at the Nature of Cities Festival 22-26 February 2021.
Dr. Arkalgud Ramprasad was invited to present his work on ontological frameworks applied to research, policy, and practice. CHeW is particularly interested in how such a framework can be applied to sustainable cities. Dr. Ramprasad is Professor Emeritus in Information and Decision Science at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the Director of the Ramaiah Public Policy Centre in Bangalore, India.
Dr. Ramprasad’s talk, entitled “Systematic Policymaking Using Ontologies: How to Make the ‘Elephant’ Dance” was hosted in Davis, California by SEI’s Vishal Mehta. This is a shortened version, focusing on Smart Cities. Sept 2019.
Journal article / A systematic review of the evidence for outdoor nature-based interventions to improve adult mental health, identifying effective types, format and dose.
Journal article / Novel co-created transdisciplinary research uses arts and humanities methods to explore air pollution in an informal settlement (Mukuru) in Nairobi, Kenya.
SEI working paper / Air pollution is a key issue in Thailand, addressed in many laws and plans. Why then, does enforcement remain such a challenge and how can it be ensured?
Project / Improving understanding about early life origins, burden, determinants, and prognostic significance of non-communicable lung disease in Kenya.
Feature / Non-traditional urban planning tools – think art and poetry – underpin new ways of co-designing city infrastructure to address health and mobility issues.
Journal article / This pilot study shows that undertaking purposeful activity in public green space has the potential to promote health and prevent mental ill health.
Other publication / Understanding the challenges of inclusivity and climate resilience in transport planning in Africa: results of a needs assessment in 4 countries.
SEI working paper / This paper explores gender issues in East African public transport systems and gender mainstreaming as a way to build more sustainable and inclusive cities.
Feature / At the Eastern Africa Women in Transportation Conference, SEI joined employees and policy-makers to discuss how to create an inclusive public transport sector.
Initiative / The Gender Equality, Social Equity and Poverty Initiative explores the links between gender, social equity and justice, power and sustainability.
Initiative / This initiative enables integrated national planning for Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals.
Project / SEI has been commissioned to undertake a project that underpins a UN-led effort to accelerate achievement of Sustainable Development Goals at the local level.
Tool / This toolkit provides insights and recommendations for urban planners to help them adopt more inclusive and gender-sensitive approaches to smart urbanization.
Feature / SEI talks about how cities in Asia are approaching climate governance with Dr Danny Marks in the new SEI Asia podcast series "Environment and Policy in Asia".
Other publication / This report provides a first-ever assessment of how opportunities for low-carbon development are distributed across the world’s urban areas.
Tool / Resource Value Mapping (REVAMP) helps city planners estimate resources and reuse potential in a city's wastewater and their financial values.
Journal article / How resilience thinking can be translated into urban water practice to develop the conceptual understanding of transitions toward sustainability
Feature / The world is in transition. What trends are emerging in 2022?
Feature / Learn more about what SEI is doing to support sustainable cities for the health and well-being of their inhabitants and the planet – #UrbanOctober
Feature / In celebration of Citizen Science Month, see a compilation of SEI's citizen science research and activities across the world.
Design and development by Soapbox.
