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In times of climate change and the global environmental crisis, socioeconomic challenges like urbanization need to be addressed hand in hand with nature and no longer at its expense. Nature-based solutions such as urban parks have become a popular instrument in science and practice. Improved health is a major outcome of their preservation, improvement and expansion. Equal accessibility to urban green for all city dwellers in response to different demands is crucial to generate liveable neighbourhoods with a high quality of life. The identification of the various needs of city dwellers, impeding usage barriers and future potentials of urban green spaces based on a scientific foundation helps city planning and decision making to meet the challenges deriving from global change while benefiting both the health of people and the natural environment. The interdisciplinary research project GreenEquityHEALTH addresses these needs by applying a multitude of methods to assess the functions of green spaces in the city of Leipzig (Germany). Here we publish our third factsheet of the project, including an English and a German version.

Fragestellung/Zielsetzung: Die Bedrohung der Gesundheit durch die Auswirkungen der Klimakrise und anderer anthropogener Umweltveränderungen sind umfassend wissenschaftlich beschrieben [ref:1]. Die Bundesärztekammer fordert die Integration von Planetary Health in die Lehre/Ausbildung [zum vollständigen Text gelangen Sie über die oben angegebene URL]

The urgency of the climate and sustainability crises and their health effects are receiving increasing attention in the German health system. To avoid further exacerbation of these crises, profound transformative processes in all sectors of society are needed (e.g. transport, energy production, and food systems). Based on the ethical imperative of non-maleficence and the high levels of trust in society, health professionals have great potential to make an important contribution to the necessary transformative processes.In order to fully harness this potential, health professionals should be supported in developing competencies to take transformative action during their pre- and postgraduate education and professional training. In this article, we introduce the concept of planetary health, as this concept provides orientation for this both ethically and with regards to the subject matter. Furthermore, we provide an overview of current teaching and learning formats and identify aspects that could contribute to further developing planetary health education.

The GreenEquityHEALTH-project explored ecosystem services provision during recent summer heat and drought periods in two distinct urban parks in Leipzig, Germany, using a interdisciplinary, multi-method approach. In detail, the objectives were to generate empirical evidence on the potential of urban parks to provide cooling under the heat and drought conditions in 2018 and 2019, explore physical activity patterns related to divers park characteristics under the heat and drought conditions in 2018 and analyse analyse physical and mental health effects related o park visits., The research project 'Environmental-Health Interactions in Cities (GreenEquityHEALTH) – Challenges for Human Wellbeing under Global Changes' (2017–2022) is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; no. 01LN1705A)., {"references":["Kabisch, N., & Kraemer, R. (2020). Physical activity patterns in two differently characterised urban parks under conditions of summer heat. Environmental Science & Policy, 107, 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.02.008","Kabisch, N. (2019) Transformation of urban brownfields through co-creation: The multi-functional Lene- Voigt Park in Leipzig as a case in point. Journal of Urban Transformations. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-019-0002-6","Kabisch, N., Alonso, L., Dadvand, P., Van den Bosch, M. (2019) Urban natural environments and motor development in early life. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.108774","Kabisch, N., Haase, D., Haase, A. (2019) Reurbanisation: A long-term process or a short-term stage? https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2266","Kabisch, N., Selsam, P., Kirsten, T., Lausch, A., Bumberger, J. (2019) A multi-sensor and multi-temporal remote sensing approach to detect land cover change dynamics in heterogeneous urban landscapes. Ecological Indicators 99, 273-282 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.12.033","Kabisch, N., Haase, D. (2018) Urban nature benefits - Opportunities for improvement of health and wellbeing in times of global change. 29th WHO Newsletter on Housing and Health \"Urban Environmental Health\" accessible here: https://www.gesundheitsamt-bw.de/lga/DE/Fachinformationen/Infodienste_ Newsletter/WHOCC/Documents/No_29_2018-2_Urban_Environmental_Health.pdf","Kabisch, N., van den Bosch, M., Lafortezza, R. (2017) The health benefits of nature-based solutions to urbanization challenges for children and the elderly - A systematic review. Environmental Research, 159, 362-373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.08.004"]}