This report presents a vision for Glasgow as a healthy city by 2050, and lays out a plan for the cities development. Glasgow’s current city systems and infrastructure, in relation to public health, are examined, and the main problem areas that were recognized lead to the plan that is laid out. These main problem areas include
Glasgow is facing multiple problems related to the public’s health. The Scottish Health Survey (2016) revealed that 62% of the public in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde region were overweight or obese. In regards to physical activity, only 68% of the men and 58% of the women in Scotland meet the advised guidelines. These statistics show that, for a healthy future, Glasgow City must take other measures to improve the public’s health. The WHO cities guide reveals that by investing in a healthy city, which is attractive to its residents, future investments on the health care can be saved. Furthermore, the economy can profit from more productive citizens (Edwards et al, 2008; 4). This report suggests that Glasgow’s public health could be improved through changes in the public transport system and by encouraging investments in the built environment.
2. What makes a person and a city healthy
An individual’s health is influenced by multiple factors of his or her surroundings. Figure 1 presents an adaptation of the Galway Healthy Cities Project’s (2015) determinants of an individual’s health status, which influence not only the physical but also the mental health. Physical health is determined by factors such as food, physical activity, recreation, air and noise. Although mental health is more internal, it can also be greatly affected by external factors in the environment, such as noise or the aesthetics of a city.
Figure 1 shows that, while on the first level an individual’s age, sex and hereditary determines his health, his immediate surroundings and behaviour also have a stark influence. A city is able to influence an individual’s behaviour and his health to a certain extent by having an impact on his or her surroundings. The transportation system, built environment, waste management, water, sanitation and health system are all parts of a city that can greatly impact an individual’s’ health.
According to Edwards et al (2008), a healthy city is not determined by the health status of the people, but rather in the city’s awareness, commitment and will to improve the public health, as well as their plan to do so. They define a healthy and active city as “one that is continually creating and improving opportunities in the built and social environments and expanding community resources to enable all its citizens to be physically active in day-to-day life.” (Edwards et al, 2008; 3). This is the definition of a healthy city that this report will be based on. The plan that will be presented aims to provide the city with ways to improve the systems and infrastructure to offer the people more opportunities to improve their health and be active in their daily lives, as well as providing them with a less stressful environment. The vision has a large focus on the transport system as it affects multiple aspects of health. The transport system can improve accessibility to health care facilities and other facilities for sports and recreation, enabling citizens to improve their physical health. It can also improve the connectivity in the city, helping connect different societies and social groups by building communities and enabling exchange and collaboration. Therefore, the first part of the vision for transportation is to expand the public transportation system. The public transportation system will also be made more efficient and reliable, to encourage more citizens to use it, because using public transportation incorporates more physical activity into an individual’s daily life (Arup, 2014). By making public transport a more common choice of travel, carbon emissions could also be drastically reduced, which leads to the second part of the vision for transportation. The mitigation of greenhouse gases would have multiple benefits on human health, especially reducing respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses (Remais et al 2014), which is why there will be a zero emission zone in the central glasgow. Eventually, cars will not be permitted in the city to further encourage active living. Apart from public transportation, the public will also be encouraged to use bicycles and walk more to get around the city. Proper bike and walking paths will therefore be improved and added. The Safety for pedestrians and people on bikes will also be improved, especially with the reduced carbon emissions and general presence of cars in the city. If the transportation system is well organized and established, the aesthetics of the city will also be less impaired by traffic congestion. The aesthetics of a city is an important factor to consider, because it can affect the public’s mental health (Arup, 2016). The plan for 2050 will mostly work towards a more active Glasgow though, in which walking and cycling will be increased to battle the current obesity crisis. Arup’s report 2016, shows that through increased walking mental wellbeing can be improved, the risk of chronic diseases is reduced and people’s resilience to further health risks is increased. Starting from 2017, the transport system will see an improvement in the Park and Ride offers. In Figure 2, which shows us the Subway line in Glasgow, you can see where there are currently park and ride offers. Parking facilities will be installed at the Subway Station in Partick and Ibrox, so that they are evenly spread out around the Subway. This should encourage the public to use more of the public transport, as it will be made more available to those living further outside of the city with cars. To achieve the goal of making public transportation more popular than cars, the subway, train and bus system will also be made more reliable and punctual through things like better maintenance (include other ways to achieve this). Furthermore, biking and walking facilities will be improved especially in the inner-city, by adding bike lanes and more pedestrian zones. This will be done gradually with the ultimate goal of having a complete car-free zone, with only public transport in the inner city. To improve the safety for cyclists, trees will be planted on either sides of the roads, giving the impression of narrower lanes, which leads to slower driving (De Week et al, 2011). The lanes for pedestrians and bicyclists will also be covered with non slip reflective surfaces to improve vision during dark and grip when it is raining (source), since rain is a common hazard in Glasgow (source). The lanes for pedestrians and bicycles within the inner city will also be covered with transparent roofs (source) to offer further protection from the rainy weather in Glasgow (source). These projects should all be completed by the year 2020. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the city will start promoting electric vehicles (EV) in 2020, with the goal of restricting petrol-fuelled vehicles by 2028. The International Energy Agency Report (2008) states that EVs are also up to four times more efficient in comparison to vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. An important aspect of this will be installing charging stations throughout the city. As Perdiguero (2012) states, the supporting infrastructure of EVs, which would be the recharging stations, is costly and one of the problems impeding their market penetration. The higher price of EVs is related to the cost of batteries. Perdiguero (2012) states that for EVs the battery performance is one of the essentials, therefore investing in Research and Development programs for the development of EVs is strongly recommended. By installing the supporting infrastructure, Glasgow will reduce the anxiety potential EV owners might experience with a lack of charging stations (Perdiguero, 2012). To further promote EVs, Glasgow will follow the example of Norway, where EVs are allowed to use taxi/ bus lanes and have free parking with charging facilities (Holtsmark et al, 2014). In 2020, the busses in Glasgow will also start being replaced by electric busses. To act as a role model, the Glasgow City Council’s own fleet of vehicles will only consist of EVs, as done in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Perdiguero, 2012). According to Živanović (2012), electric buses reduce not only CO2 emissions and noise pollution, but also have improved efficiency. Combined with the introduction of electric buses, Glasgow will work towards a more efficient, comfortable and punctual bus service. It will be also be possible to purchase tickets via an app, since purchasing tickets from the bus driver slows down the bus service. Solutions like this could be seen in numerous cities, such as Stockholm or Helsinki…(source). Bus stations and train stations will also offer more protection and shelter from rain to further encourage their use by the public. In 2025 the supporting infrastructure for EVs will be fully installed and the whole public bus service will consist of electric buses. By 2028, petrol-fuelled vehicle owners will see a restriction to driving in the city centre. According to the Vehicle Licensing Statistics of 2015, the average age of vehicles on the road is 8 years, with only approximately 14% being older than 13 years. By starting the strong promotion of EVs in 2020 and communicating the plan of future restrictions, Glasgow hopes to influence all new car purchases, thereby enabling the restriction in 2028. To further promote the voluntary purchasing of EVs, a country-wide policy would be required, such as Denmark introduced, which granted full exemption from various taxes concerning EVs (Perdiguero, 2012). Glasgow City Council will restrict all cars, except delivery vehicles and taxis, from entering the city centre by 2030. By this time the public transport system will be well established and the public should be able to fully rely on it. This is the ultimate step to the goal of reducing Carbon emissions in the inner-city, while at the same time improving the safety for pedestrians and those on bicycles. By restricting private vehicles from entering the inner-city, Glasgow will also be able to extend the pedestrian zones and improve the walkability in the city. The use of former parking availabilities will be altered to spaces of recreational activities, which is part of the plan for the built environment discussed in sections 3 of this report. The transportation vision of Glasgow will be financed from multiple sources. For the transition to electric buses, Glasgow City Council hopes to secure private sector funding options and cooperate with the public transport services to make an investment. As they, too, will see many benefits of this vision. Furthermore the UK and Scottish Government will grant further funding for the further development of the Glasgow City Region. To ensure the successful course and progress of this region, Glasgow City Council must ensure that there is no lack of participation from the citizen’s side. The progress of the program must be adequately monitored by doing regular checks on air quality and the emissions in the city and by completing a process evaluation. After reaching the first few transport goals, an outcome evaluation is recommended. Since much of the transportation in Glasgow will be electric, these systems will rely heavily on the electricity infrastructure in the city. One of the goals is to reduce carbon emissions in the city, but, as emphasized by Perdiguero (2012), for reduced greenhouse gas emissions from solutions like EVs, the electricity must be produced from renewable energy sources. If the electricity that is generated is not green, the changes proposed in this report will simply be redistributing the carbon emissions to the energy system, instead of reducing them. If the electricity is produced by fossil fuels, such as coal or lignite, the use of electric vehicles would not have a positive influence on the emissions. Although solutions for generating greener electricity will not be discussed in this report, it is important to recognize that this is another area that will need to be developed. EV’s influence on the electricity demand also must be considered. Peak demand would be in the night, when the vehicles would be parked to charge. Intelligent charging systems should be considered, where EV owners could program their cars to be charged to a specific hour (Reiner et al, 2010). 4. The vision for the Built Environment in Glasgow Next to the transportation system the Glasgow – The Healthy City also looks at built environment. Although there is a clear connection between population health and built environment, the urban and suburban environment in Glasgow so far is not well designed to facilitate healthy behaviour of the public. The layout and planning of the city rather remain focused on legacy, economics and aesthetics. This section will highlight how built environment can contribute to shaping the design of Glasgow in ways that create the conditions for a healthy environment. In the aspect of built environment, our primary focus is on health in relation to housing and land use in Glasgow. Proposed projects will eventually lead to reduction of houses and buildings’ carbon emission which also corresponds to Glasgow – The Healthy City plan of action for transportation until 2050. According to the Glasgow Atlas (2014) from the Institute for Future Cities at University of Strathclyde, the population of Glasgow city in several areas are facing both health and housing deprivation. One of the biggest concerns is the many old Victorian buildings and houses, which are poorly insulated. Living in a cold environment is physiologically stressful for elders, patients, and children. More importantly the indoor temperature directly affects physical health of the residents. Low temperature indicates more dampness and moisture which will increase the risk of respiratory symptoms. While the World Health Organization (2007) suggests that minimum indoor temperature should be at 18°C or ideally at 21°C if there are infants and elders, the average indoor temperature in the winter for most homes is at 16°C. As the buildings are not insulated properly, a large amount of heat escape from buildings even through tiny gaps in roofs and window. House occupants, on the other hand, produce moisture in their daily activities such as, laundry and cooking. Moisture then condenses on cold surfaces, such as uninsulated walls. (NHBC 2016) Therefore, ‘Home heating and Re-insulation’ is the built environment major focus which will begin in 2018. Home heating program aims to improve energy efficiency in both private and social rented building through the installation of wall and other renewable measures. Insulation will be installed in walls, ceilings and under floors. “Older houses, insulation can be easily and relatively cheaply added to the ceiling cavity and under floors” (Science Media Centre 2008). This project will be implemented by Glasgow City Council, working in partnership with Department of Architecture of the Strathclyde University to design insulations for different property types. The Council will provide an on-site consultation team and further recommendation to properties’ owners who are looking for renovation. The team will follow up and conduct health assessment impact every year to evaluate the outcome. The council can also tackle fuel poverty problem in less developed areas of Glasgow subsidizing home owners. Priority will be given to lower income households, and families whose members are at risk of poor health condition. Donation may come from private sector. However, the Scottish Government Home Energy Efficiency Programme for Scotland will be the official funder. Not only will improvement in the insulation affect indoor temperature, it will also decrease heat generation that contributes to carbon emission which is accounted for 75% of the overall emission in Glasgow in the period of 2005-2012 (see figure 3). Moreover, daily routine and household chemical products including cleansers, air freshener, and candles produce a significant amount of indoor air pollutants. Consequently, the substances cause eyes irritation, dizziness, fatigue, fever, forgetfulness, headaches, allergies, and nausea (WHO 2010). Thus by 2025, Green Walls project will be introduced to the residents of Glasgow centre as a follow up plan under the umbrella of efficient ‘Home heating and insulation solution’ with and objective to help improving the energy efficiency as Green Walls can help stopping temperature fluctuation at a wall’s surface in turn limiting the movement of heat between building walls (GRHC 2016). They also create a buffer against wind during winter months by increasing the seal or air tightness of doors, windows, and cladding by decreasing the effect of wind pressure (Peck et al. 1999). Ivy on the outer surface will provide thermal insulation for buildings which leads to less demand in power. Growing green wall close by an air intake valve will provide clean air circulation throughout the building as plants can remove airborne pollutants such as toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene, and other volatile organic compounds (Yang et al. 2009). This will help tremendously in improving both the internal and external air quality. By 2027, green walls will be planted on the external surfaces of at least two buildings on each block in the inner city. Interested property owners can register with City Council Consultation team. The team will continue cooperating with the department of Architecture of the University of Strathclyde to deliver a suitable design for each type of property. Green walls will then expand to the East and the West sides of Glasgow. Residents will be welcomed to register in the end of 2027 with a 5-year timeframe for completion of both areas. Neighbourhoods of the North and the South sides will enter the program in the beginning of 2033, also with the exact timeframe. Simultaneously the City Council and its cooperating partners will collect information on abandoned buildings as they install new insulation and green walls. The team will work with Building Preservation Trust fund of Glasgow to redesign and create green space without demolishing urban legacy. Renovation of abandoned infrastructure will follow the blueprint of the ‘High Line project’ in New York which is essentially a green roof on top of an elevated railroad track. Materials used in the High Line were selected based on life-cycle costs. Special concrete designed to last long was used to reduce the waste caused by later replacements (Friend of the Highline 2016). The project once successful will motivate more communication between the people and a more active lifestyle. Annually, the Council along with Department of Statistics in partner universities will conduct a follow up health assessment, urban heat measurement, re-insulation records, and air quality report. The institute for Future Cities will combine these data to analyse positive and negative impacts including suggestions for improvement. By 2045, it is expected that carbon and greenhouse gases’ emission from buildings will be reduce by 50% while neighbourhoods with housing and health deprivation will decrease by 80%, leaving the last 5 years to complete the remaining areas of the city. By 2050, Green walls and renovation plans will have provided an aesthetic solution. Nonetheless, the projects will create a great number of job opportunities – such as landscape architects, botanists, consultants, gardeners, and more. The team at Glasgow City Council will encourage citizen’s involvement and universities participation by setting up forums in order to gather new ideas. This in turn will allow connectivity, closer partnership and result in a stronger sense of community. 5. Areas of public health not cover As already mentioned this Glasgow- The Healthy City plan 2050 only focuses on changes in the transportation system and built environment. In a Glasgow there are however multiple other aspects, which can still need further focus. As discussed above an important part of this action plan till 2050 interacts with the energy system and electricity supply of Glasgow. To have a fully successful transforming into a healthy city, a energy policy will have to be developed in which clean and green energy supply is guaranteed. The healthcare system in Glasgow and the Clyde region could improve its services, by offering a more personalized health care, encouraging not only more dialogue between patient and doctors but also more dialogue between patients suffering from same disease. As doctors’ and specialists’ advice is trusted by the population, they should use their authority of encouraging more physical activity among the population. To improve the quality of nutrition and prevent addiction of alcohol or drugs the healthcare system should establish a preventive measure of educating pupils in schools. A network of recreational programs with healthcare facilities in the preventive health care could be established integrating care for senior citizens, to keep them active and engaged. A thorough research on the city systems of waste disposal and also the water and sewage system is needed, to assess, how e.g. recycling and further factors can be improved, to have a positive effect on the people’s health. Simultaneously Glasgow could improve the access and influence the demand to healthy and affordable local food, to ensure the healthy nutrition of the citizens. The main areas, when looking at city systems and infrastructure, that could improve the public’s health in Glasgow are the transportation system and the built environment. The vision presented in this report strives to improve both the physical and mental health of the people through better connectivity, accessibility, active living, aesthetics and by reducing carbon emissions. For the transportation system, this will be done by gradually changing to electrical vehicles to reduce carbon emissions, and restricting private vehicles in the city centre in order to encourage more active forms of transportation and to improve the safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Active living will also be encouraged through a more efficient and reliable public transportation system, and more protection from the weather and better safety while walking to biking. For the built environment, the focus is mainly on housing and bringing more greenery into the city though. The heating for the housing in Glasgow will be made more efficient to reduce carbon emissions, and greenery will be brought into the city in the form of, for example, green walls, to preserve the cities legacy. These changes should improve the publics physical and mental health, since their daily lives will become more active, there will be less carbon emissions in the city, and the greener environment will reduce feelings of stress and claustrophobia.