EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Urbanisation can support the emergence of obesogenic environments, promoting more sedentary, inactive lifestyles and leading to an increase in obesity, a reduction in physical activity and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. Obesogenic environment: ‘the sum of influences that the surroundings, opportunities, or conditions of life have on promoting obesity in individuals or populations . ’ – Swinburn et al. (1999) Other health challenges arising from urbanisation include exposure to excessive noise and poor air quality. Moreover, increased urban living means that there may be fewer opportunities for engaging with our natural environment, which can in itself be detrimental to our physical and mental health. Strong health-centred urban design, policies and planning are therefore vital for Ireland’s transition to more compact urban living. Planning policy and practice should commit to prioritising a modal shift away from the currently high dependence on private internal combustion engine-powered motor vehicles to amenities and networks that support more active travel and living. While the government’s National Planning Framework 2040 moves towards aligning health considerations and policy within the spatial planning framework, local government has a vital role implementing programmes that promote active living at a community level. Given the rising level of urbanisation and population growth, coupled with the increasing public health burden of obesity and physical inactivity, it is critically important that health-centred design and planning is prioritised and appropriately implemented at local and national levels. 5. Conclusions Interconnected Solutions Our health and wellbeing are inextricably linked to our surrounding environment. Many of the issues we face that damage our environment and our health and wellbeing are closely interconnected. Harnessing the co-benefits of solutions is essential for effective and efficient environmental and health protection. Solutions that can help to address one issue can deliver substantial co-benefits for others. For example, providing integrated health-promoting environments in urban planning can promote more active travel, reduce air pollution through the use of fewer private vehicles, act as quiet areas buffered from environmental noise and improve the physical and mental health of those walking or cycling. Moreover, meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement would be expected to save over one million lives globally each year from the effects of air pollution alone by 2050 (WHO, 2018). 378