Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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UrbClim, the urban climate model, is used for short- and long-term projections of climate for Delhi. The projections are performed for RCP8.5 using an ensemble of 11 GCM model outputs. Various heat stress indices were employed to understand the role of urban heat island (UHI) in influencing the present and future urban climate of the city. ⋯ The intensity of heat wave (IHW) for urban land uses increases from 40 °C in reference time frame to 45 °C in short-term projection to 49 °C in far future. These values for non-urban land use were 33 °C during the baseline time period and are expected to increase to 42 °C and 46 °C in near- and far-future time frames. The results clearly indicate the contribution of UHI effects in intensifying the impacts of extreme heat and heat stress in the city.
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To examine the relationships between perceptions of neighborhood environment, sense of community, and self-rated heath, we recruited 1798 people aged 60 years and older living in Hong Kong. With reference to the checklist of the essential features of age-friendly cities developed by the World Health Organization, perceptions of neighborhood environment were assessed using a questionnaire covering physical and social environmental domains, which mapped onto "outdoor spaces and buildings," "transportation," "housing," "social participation," "respect and social inclusion," "civic participation and employment," "communication and information," and "community support and health services." Sense of community was measured by the Brief Sense of Community Scale. Self-rated health was assessed by a single question. ⋯ Among the domains of perceived neighborhood environment, "transportation" and "respect and social inclusion" were the physical and the social environmental domains most strongly associated with sense of community, respectively. In addition, sense of community accounted for part of the relationship between perceived neighborhood environments and self-rated health. The results of this study support the importance of perceived neighborhood environments for the sense that older person has of one's community, and self-rated health of older people which may be enhanced through the improvement of neighborhood environments.
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The world is becoming increasingly urban. For the first time in history, more than 50% of human beings live in cities (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, ed. (2015)). Rapid urbanization is often chaotic and unstructured, leading to the formation of informal settlements or slums. ⋯ Cochrane Database Syst Rev CD000012, 2012; Brocklehurst et al. BMJ 343:d7400, 2011). In this paper, three case studies are described that support the use of this model in low resource, urban settings.
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Environmental burdens such as air pollution are inequitably distributed with groups of lower socioeconomic statuses, which tend to comprise of large proportions of racial minorities, typically bearing greater exposure. Such groups have also been shown to present more severe health outcomes which can be related to adverse pollution exposure. Air pollution exposure, especially in urban areas, is usually impacted by the built environment, such as major roadways, which can be a significant source of air pollution. ⋯ When considering univariate associations between pollution and health outcomes, the only significant association existed between nitrogen oxides and COPD being negatively correlated. Greater percent tree canopy cover and green space access were associated with higher prevalence of COPD, CHD, and stroke. Overall, in considering health outcomes in connection with pollution exposure infrastructure and ethnic demographics, demographics remained the most significant explanatory variable.