Developing an Innovative Holistic Approach for Assessing the Impact of Urban Blue-Green Spaces on Human Health and Well-Being in the HEART Study

Public health and well-being at the global level are profoundly affected by disrupted physical, biological, and ecological systems due to environmental stressors in urban environments. The Horizon2020 project "Healthier Cities through Blue-Green Regenerative Technologies: the HEART Approach" used the innovative systemic methodology to assess the impact of blue-green solutions (BGS) on human health and well-being in three European cities: Aarhus, Athens and Belgrade. The primary methodological framework for assessing interactions between citizens' health and water (blue) and green (vegetated) infrastructure in selected cities was to define critical elements and components for quantifying human body reactions to environmental conditions and characteristics in both "green" and "grey" urban zones. The HEART designed a toolbox that includes mixed BGS and advanced ICT which enabled informed decision-making and quantified impact assessment of the proposed/optimised integrated solutions for the public health and well-being benefits. A large set of heterogeneous data is being collected from: (i) semi-structured clinical repositories, diagnostic and treatment protocols, (ii) patients' generated data during their daily life activities, captured by wearable devices and iii) environmental measurements via developed and deployed ICT tools. Overall, these ICT tools and methods are integral to the HEART project, enabling comprehensive data collection, real-time monitoring, and advanced analysis to evaluate the impact of BGS on public health and well-being in urban environments. By developing and deploying of all ICT tools used to reach the study goals, the HEART consortium highlights the importance of the strong bonds between technology, health and the environment. By adopting a holistic approach, policymakers, urban planners, and public health experts will be able to address health challenges comprehensively, considering not only medical care but also social and economic determinants such as inequalities, community relations, or access to green spaces and a healthy environment.