Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan

Iungman, Tamara; Ventura Caballé, Sergi; Segura-Barrero, Ricard; Cirach, Marta; Mueller, Natalie, 1988-; Daher, Carolyn; Villalba, Gara; Pereira Barboza, Evelise; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.

Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan

Mostra el registre complet Registre parcial de l'ítem

dc.contributor.author Iungman, Tamara
dc.contributor.author Ventura Caballé, Sergi
dc.contributor.author Segura-Barrero, Ricard
dc.contributor.author Cirach, Marta
dc.contributor.author Mueller, Natalie, 1988-
dc.contributor.author Daher, Carolyn
dc.contributor.author Villalba, Gara
dc.contributor.author Pereira Barboza, Evelise
dc.contributor.author Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.
dc.date.accessioned 2025-04-08T06:13:28Z
dc.date.available 2025-04-08T06:13:28Z
dc.date.issued 2025
dc.description.abstract Introduction: The Green Corridors Plan (Eixos Verds Plan), proposed by the Barcelona City Council, aims to enhance urban well-being, environmental sustainability, and resilience by transforming one in every three streets into green corridors. Although initially designed for city-wide implementation, only the first phase, focused on the centric Eixample district, has been completed, and the overall plan implementation has been postponed. Our aim is to evaluate the health co-benefits of implementing the Green Corridors plan citywide, focusing on the direct effects of increased exposure to greenness and the impact of temperature reduction on mortality. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive Health Impact Assessment (HIA) considering direct effects of expanding green spaces (GS) and the impact on temperature reduction. Preventable mortality at the census tract level for adult residents was estimated, and to address uncertainties, we performed Monte Carlo iterations. We computed the percentage increase in GS (land use) and tree cover and converted them into Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to conduct the HIA, employing a Generalized Additive Model (GAM). We used the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) coupled with the urban parameterizations "Building Effect Parameterization" (BEP) and "Building Energy Model" (BEM) for temperature modelling. Hourly temperatures from 25/06/2015 to 25/07/2015 were simulated, both with and without Green Corridors Plan implementation. Results: City-wide implementation of the Green Corridors plan would increase average GS by 3.64 % (IQR: 2.17 % - 4.40 %) and NDVI by 0.286 (IQR: 0.256-0.304) per census tract. This could potentially prevent 178 premature deaths annually (95 % CI: 116-247), equating to 13 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (95 % CI: 9-19). The average daily temperature reduction per census tract was estimated at 0.05 °C, with a maximum reduction of 0.42 °C. Temperature reduction could potentially prevent 5 deaths during the simulated month. Additionally, we estimated a mean decrease in the thermal stress of 0.11 °C, reaching up to 1.48 °C at its peak. Conclusion: The Green Corridors plan can make significant contributions to a healthier urban environment. To address climate and especially heat impacts, complementary strategies to achieve more substantial temperature reduction are needed. Overall, our findings underscore the potential of nature-based solutions (NbS), exemplified by the Green Corridors Plan, in creating more sustainable and health-promoting urban environments.
dc.description.sponsorship We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the “Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023” Program (CEX2018-000806-S); support from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program; support from Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red (CIBER) Epidemiología y Salud Pública; support from the European Union’s, Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) under GA No 101094639 - THE URBAN BURDEN OF DISEASE ESTIMATION FOR POLICY MAKING (UBDPolicy); support from the GoGreenRoutes through the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant number 869764); support from the Barcelona City Council through the Agreement 23S04664 - Impacte en salut de la implementació del Pla d’Eixos Verds and support from the European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator project: Integrated System Analysis of Urban Vegetation and Agriculture (grant number 818002).
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation Iungman T, Caballé SV, Segura-Barrero R, Cirach M, Mueller N, Daher C, et al. Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan. Environ Int. 2025 Feb;196:109313. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109313
dc.identifier.doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109313
dc.identifier.issn 0160-4120
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/70105
dc.language.iso eng
dc.publisher Elsevier
dc.relation.ispartof Environ Int. 2025 Feb;196:109313
dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HE/101094639
dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/2PE/CEX2018-000806-S
dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/869764
dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/818002
dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subject.keyword Barcelona
dc.subject.keyword Green spaces
dc.subject.keyword Health impact assessment
dc.subject.keyword Heat
dc.subject.keyword Nature-based solutions
dc.subject.keyword Premature mortality
dc.title Co-benefits of nature-based solutions: A health impact assessment of the Barcelona Green Corridor (Eixos Verds) plan
dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Col·leccions

Articles (Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) – Campus Mar)
Documents OpenAIRE (Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe)