Seminar Making Green Work for Health

Organized in collaboration with the University of São Paulo, Insper and BK Urban Health program, this seminar brought to the stage new knowledge and practices at the intersection of urban greening, health, and economic opportunities (green jobs, inclusive employment, etc.).

Greening is a mainstream strategy in urban climate policies, and planting trees is particularly popular: Trees capture carbon dioxide, mitigate the urban heat island, and improve liveability and public health. However, urbanization is causing a global decline of mature trees, undermining human health. In this context, Making Green Work for Health departs from the simple premise that planting trees isn’t sufficient to support human health, and that urban trees need to be healthy too. Our hypothesis is that facilitating and empowering new economies of green care at the local scale can address this issue while helping tackle inequalities and ensure a just green transition.

The day  included two parts: (1) a first one with 2 panels featuring seminar presentations plus Q&A in the morning, followed by (2) an afternoon working session to forge new collaborations. This working session aimed to identify potential partners and chart a specific roadmap for advancing the project, including the exploration of targeted funding proposals.

This seminar was funded via the Call for Proposals SPRINT 2022 for the organization of exchange activities between Delft and São Paulo.

Schedule

9.00 Welcome, Machiel van Dorst (professor of environmental behavior and design, TU Delft)

9.10 Introduction, Víctor Muñoz Sanz (assistant professor of urban design, TU Delft)

9.30 Panel 1 Green Health

Urbanity and Health: a Medical Approach

Paulo Saldiva (professor of pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo)

Strategic Urban Green Space Planning with Health in Mind

Cecil Konijnendijk (co-director Nature Based Solutions Institute and honorary professor University of British Columbia)

Thermal Comfort in Urban Territories: Health Impact and  Citizen’s Science

Paulina Achurra (professor of engineering, Insper São Paulo)

Response, René van de Velde (associate professor of urban forestry and landscape architecture, TU Delft)

Moderated by Deepti Adlakha (associate professor of urban health, TU Delft)

11.00 Panel 2 Green Policy

Greening Governance: Exploring Diverse Management Forms and Agency in  (Re)Greening Urban Settings for Sustainability Transitions in the Netherlands 

Sara Romero (Technical University of Madrid)

Decent Work in Nature-based Solutions

Maikel Lieuw-Kie-Song (International Labour Organization)

Groen en Gezond: Building a Green and Healthy City Together

Camiel Dijkers (project manager Groen-Blauw Gemeente Almere)

Green as Places: Experimental Micro-Urbanism Facing Social and Environmental Inequalities

Laura Janka Zires (Planning director at the Planning Institute of Fortaleza, Brazil)

Panel discussion moderated by Víctor Muñoz Sanz (Urban Design, TU Delft)

13:00 Break

14.30 Work session

Aiming to define future research questions, identify potential partners and chart a specific roadmap for advancing the project, including the exploration of targeted funding proposals.

17.00 Reception