Audrey de Nazelle (Imperial College London)
Abstract. There is an increasing interest in tackling multiple social, health and environmental concerns in cities with a comprehensive and holistic approach, including a recent surge in interest in developing complex systems analysis of cities. Some of the greatest public health challenges in particular such as climate change, physical inactivity, traffic injuries, urban air pollution, have led international and national organizations to call for multilevel approaches to planning cities for better health. Part of the solution lies in creating built environments that enable and promote individuals to take on healthy and sustainable behaviors. Understanding how such behaviors can be encouraged and what are the multiple ramifications of the policies put in place to such effect is still in its infancy.
I will present work on my attempt to develop integrated health impact assessments of transportation policies and to collect data to fill some of the knowledge gaps needed for comprehensive assessments. I will discuss future research directions on using communication and information technology to nudge people into healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.
I hope to generate discussions on developing complex systems approaches to neighborhood and city-level planning and health policy analysis, bridging the gap between macro- and micro-level analyses, and on motivating behavioral change, including through the use of new technologies.