Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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Rapid urbanization and escalating climate crises place cities at the critical juncture of environmental and public health action. Urban areas are home to more than half of the global population, contributing ~ 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Structured surveys were completed by 191 leaders in city governments and civil society from 118 cities in 52 countries (February-April 2024). ⋯ Essential resources, municipal systems, and cross-sector collaborations are limited. (3) Mitigation actions and health co-benefits: 90% of cities reported air pollution from multiple sources; only 38% monitor air quality. Energy, food, and transportation systems are sub-optimal to mitigate climate concerns. (4) Economics and finance: 92% of cities report climate change-related economic losses; they plan to increase investments though resources remain constrained. (5) Public and political engagement: City leaders report minimal knowledge sharing among media, national/local government, scientific community, business community, and residents. Results underscore urgency for action and highlight solutions, providing a roadmap for cities to enhance resilience, safeguard public health, and promote social equity.
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Neighborhoods or residential environments have physical and social attributes which may contribute to inequalities in the overweight and obesity pandemic. We examined the longitudinal associations of baseline neighborhood-level income and racial residential segregation (using the Gi* statistic: low, medium, high) with changes in body mass index (BMI in kg/m2), using geocoded data from 1821 civil servants in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, followed-up for approximately 13 years (baseline wave 1: 1999, wave 2: 2001-2002, wave 3: 2006-2007, wave 4: 2012-2013). Linear mixed effects models using BMI measured in all four study waves were performed, accounting for gender, race, length of residence, education and time-dependent age, and per capita family income. ⋯ For racial segregation, mean differences in BMI for participants living in high and medium vs low segregated neighborhoods were 0.71 kg/m2 (0.71; 0.14, 1.29) and 0.30 kg/m2 (0.30; - 0.24, 0.83), respectively. We also showed a moderate to strong correlation between racial and income segregation at baseline. Strategies to reduce BMI and obesity-related health inequalities should include special efforts aimed at segregated neighborhoods and its obesogenic environments.
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Community violence is a major cause of injury and death in the USA. Empirical studies have identified that some place-based interventions of urban private places, such as remediations of vacant lots and buildings, are associated with reductions in community violence in surrounding areas. The aim of this study was to examine whether routine maintenance and repair of urban public places (e.g., street construction projects) are also associated with reductions in community violence, proxied by violent crime incidents. ⋯ There were 81,904 street-quarters with any community violence incidents (52.7%). We found that street construction projects were associated with a decrease in reckless endangerment (ATT = - 1.3%; 95% CI = - 2.1%, - 0.4%), robbery (ATT = - 3.4%; 95% CI = - 6.1%, - 0.7%), and weapons offenses (ATT = - 1.6%; 95% CI = - 3.0, - 0.08%) occurring on street-quarters. Street construction projects may be yet another type of place-based intervention to reduce community violence.
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Environmental noise pollution is one of the biggest concerns and the most important challenges in urban areas. Evidence from epidemiological studies shows that acoustic pollution can impact human health, and the effects may be stronger in susceptible and sensitive individuals. The objective of the study was to determine the individual exposure to road transport noise for preschool children in the residential environment and to assess its impact on children's psychological health. ⋯ Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between residential exposure to environmental noise caused by road transport and children's psychological health. The results of the study showed that the risk of hyperactivity and total scale difficulties increased statistically significantly up to 77% and up to 48%, respectively, in the highest noise (Lnight ≥ 50 dB) exposure. The obtained results provide new knowledge about the relationship between road traffic noise in the residential environment and the psychological health of preschool children.
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Sexually minoritized men (SMM), transgender women (TW), and particularly Black SMM and Black TW may be disproportionately impacted by alcohol-related problems. Few studies have empirically examined neighborhood factors that may contribute to alcohol use, specifically among these populations. Using data from the N2 longitudinal cohort study in Chicago, IL, survey data from the second wave of longitudinal assessment (n = 126) and GPS mobility data from enrollment were used to evaluate neighborhood alcohol outlet availability, neighborhood disorder, and neighborhood poverty as correlates of individual alcohol use. ⋯ Separate analytical models found no significant effect between alcohol use and exposure to on-premise consumption venue AOD (risk ratio (RR) = 0.99, p = 0.57), off-premise consumption AOD (RR = 0.94, p = 0.56), neighborhood poverty (RR = 1.04, p = 0.07), or neighborhood violent crime (RR = 1.00, p = 0.94). Exposure to higher levels of vacant buildings (RR = 1.03, p = 0.04) was found to be significantly associated with increased alcohol use. Among this population, opposed to geospatial access, neighborhood measurements indicative of disorder may have a greater influence on shaping alcohol use.