21 research outputs found
SUPER â Sustainable Urbanisation and Land-use Practices in European Regions Spin-off concept and methodology
SUPER â Sustainable Urbanization and Land-use Practices in European Regions Annex IIa â Technical Report Lithuania â Spin-off
SUPER â Sustainable Urbanization and Land-use Practices in European Regions Lithuania â Spin-off Final Report
SUPER â Sustainable Urbanization and Land-use Practices in European Regions Croatia - Spin-off Annex IIb â Technical Report
Active Mobility â the New Health Trend in Smart Cities, or even More?
Active mobility (AM), including walking and cycling as single trips or in combination with public transport,
has recently been promoted by health professionals â with WHO leading the way â to tackle health problems
caused by physical inactivity. In fact only 1/3 of the European population is estimated to meet the minimum
recommended levels of physical activity by the WHO of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity 5 times
per week. Being aware that we spend between 70 to 80 min per day travelling and that 50% of all car trips
(in Europe) are shorter than 5 km, active mobility has an enormous potential to get people more active.
However, how is this knowledge of proven positive health effects of AM been taken into account â either by
urban and transport planning authorities or by health administration? Is this ânew health trendâ visible in
strategies, cooperation or â whatâs even more important â in implemented measures in smart cities?
âPhysical activity through sustainable transport approachesâ (PASTA1)â is a European project addressing
and analyzing the promising link between transport and health. It pursues an interdisciplinary approach
involving scientists and leading experts from a range of disciplines, including (among others) transport and
urban planning, public health, environmental sciences, climate change and energy, and transport economics.
The overall aim of the project is to generate knowledge about the effects of AM in consideration of health
effects.
This paper reveals backgrounds and relationships between transport and health work in seven European case
study cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Ărebro, Rome, Vienna and Zurich) based on workshops and
stakeholder interviews conducted in PASTA. Considering citiesâ framework conditions (strategies and
policies, infrastructure and other measures promoting AM etc.) and comparing stakeholdersâ perspectives
bring out that cities have to struggle with similar barriers and challenges. Otherwise they take promising
approaches and efforts towards sustainable and healthy urban development; increasing synergies between the
health and transport sector seems to be one of the missing links between transport and health. Good practices
and new ideas for transport planners and health experts are provided aiding to create livable conditions
through well-planned infrastructure, a safe environment and attractive public space, awareness-raising
activities and various broader policies â including the health policy. After all AM should not just be an
ephemeral health trend, but common (health) practice
Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA): A study protocol for a multicentre project
Introduction: Only one-third of the European population meets the minimum recommended levels of physical activity (PA). Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Walking and cycling for transport (active mobility, AM) are well suited to provide regular PA. The European research project Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) pursues the following aims: (1) to investigate correlates and interrelations of AM, PA, air pollution and crash risk; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of selected interventions to promote AM; (3) to improve health impact assessment (HIA) of AM; (4) to foster the exchange between the disciplines of public health and transport planning, and between research and practice. Methods and analysis: PASTA pursues a mixed-method and multilevel approach that is consistently applied in seven case study cities. Determinants of AM and the evaluation of measures to increase AM are investigated through a large scale longitudinal survey, with overall 14 000 respondents participating in Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Ărebro, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. Contextual factors are systematically gathered in each city. PASTA generates empirical findings to improve HIA for AM, for example, with estimates of crash risks, factors on AM-PA substitution and carbon emissions savings from mode shifts. Findings from PASTA will inform WHO's online Health Economic Assessment Tool on the health benefits from cycling and/or walking. The study's wide scope, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and health and transport methods, the innovative survey design, the general and city-specific analyses, and the transdisciplinary composition of the consortium and the wider network of partners promise highly relevant insights for research and practice. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been obtained by the local ethics committees in the countries where the work is being conducted, and sent to the European Commission before the start of the survey. The PASTA website (http://www.pastaproject.eu) is at the core of all communication and dissemination activities. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution IGO License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction for non-commercial purposes in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that WHO or this article endorse any specific organisation or products. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article's original URL
The EU farming employment: current challenges and future prospects
This study outlines the current trends and patterns of farming
employment in the EU and discusses possible development
paths for the European agricultural labour force.
In particular, this study investigates the drivers of and structural
changes within agricultural labour markets at regional, national
and EU level, building on a range of quantitative and qualitative
analysis methods
Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA): a study protocol for a multicentre project
Introduction: Only one-third of the European population meets the minimum recommended levels of physical activity (PA). Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Walking and cycling for transport (active mobility, AM) are well suited to provide regular PA. The European research project Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) pursues the following aims: (1) to investigate correlates and interrelations of AM, PA, air pollution and crash risk; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of selected interventions to promote AM; (3) to improve health impact assessment (HIA) of AM; (4) to foster the exchange between the disciplines of public health and transport planning, and between research and practice. Methods and analysis: PASTA pursues a mixed-method and multilevel approach that is consistently applied in seven case study cities. Determinants of AM and the evaluation of measures to increase AM are investigated through a large scale longitudinal survey, with overall 14 000 respondents participating in Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Ărebro, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. Contextual factors are systematically gathered in each city. PASTA generates empirical findings to improve HIA for AM, for example, with estimates of crash risks, factors on AM-PA substitution and carbon emissions savings from mode shifts. Findings from PASTA will inform WHO's online Health Economic Assessment Tool on the health benefits from cycling and/or walking. The study's wide scope, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and health and transport methods, the innovative survey design, the general and city-specific analyses, and the transdisciplinary composition of the consortium and the wider network of partners promise highly relevant insights for research and practice. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been obtained by the local ethics committees in the countries where the work is being conducted, and sent to the European Commission before the start of the survey. The PASTA website (http://www.pastaproject.eu) is at the core of all communication and dissemination activities. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution IGO License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction for non-commercial purposes in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that WHO or this article endorse any specific organisation or products. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article's original URL.
Document type: Articl
SUPER â Sustainable Urbanization and Land-use Practices in European Regions Croatia â Spin-off Final Report
Sustainable Urbanisation in Europe. Finding opportunities to promote sustainable urbanisation in my region
Since 2000, approximately 250 football fields of land (180 ha) have been converted to urban use in Europe every day. This development far outstrips population growth; urbanisation occurs even in shrinking regions. In Europe, the conversion of land to urban use is the outcome of conscious decisions.
The purpose of this policy brief is to provide cities, regions and countries with a methodological approach to make the current urbanisation practices more efficient and sustainable, and thereby to support the implementation of the European Green Deal, the Territorial Agenda 2030 and the New Leipzig Charter. The application of this approach is demonstrated by two cases, one in Croatia and one in Lithuania. Following the March 2020 earthquake near Zagreb, the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets of the Republic of Croatia requested recommendations on how to link the reconstruction processes in the three affected regions to sustainable land use. The Ministry of Environment of Lithuania requested support for the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan of the Territory of the Republic of Lithuania. The problems encountered by Croatia and Lithuania are similar to those in other European Member States. Many Mediterranean areas are earthquake prone, and urban development in shrinking areas is far from unique in Europe. Moreover, the approach to analysing the situation and finding potential solutions that this policy brief describes is therefore applicable to many other European regions as well