Urban Health and Wellbeing, 1st ed. 2020 Indian Case Studies Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences Series

This book focuses on interdisciplinary issues of human health in the changing urban environments of India?s largest megacities?Delhi and Mumbai. The authors explore human health concerns related to increased temperatures and air pollution in these cities in a study based on primary data collected through interviews, as well as secondary data on causes of mortality from 2001 to 2012. During this period, the surface temperatures for both megacities were mapped using Landsat Images.

The rapidly increasing populations of cities and urban centers alter ecosystem services such as water, air and land cover, with disastrous impacts on health and wellbeing, particularly in megacities. In 2015, polluted air was estimated to have been responsible for 6.4 million deaths worldwide, and it is projected that it will cause between 6 and 9 million deaths per year by 2060. In 2017, outdoor air pollution resulted in 1.2 million deaths in India and brought about a 3% loss in GDP. The increase in population, vehicles, and industries has led to changes in land use and land cover and a rise in city temperatures and air pollution, creating urban heat islands (UHIs). Together, UHIs and air pollution have damaging impacts on human health that range from stress and headache to asthma, bronchitis, and chronic diseases, and even to death.

Delhi has been experiencing emergency conditions in terms of environmental health over the past two years. At the same time, both the Delhi and Mumbai urban agglomerations are growing at a rapid pace, and the United Nations has projected that they will be the second and third most populous cities in the world by 2025. In this context, the book offers significant insights into the past patterns and responses to the present global urban health emergencies, and explores sustainable means of combating the problem to enable college and university researchers to develop innovative solutions. Further. It presents trans-disciplinary research that cuts across the WHO Action Plan, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Habitat III to help policymakers gain a better understanding of the global challenges of urban health and wellbeing. The book is especially useful for students and researchers in geography, urban demography, urban studies, environmental studies, health sciences, and policy studies.

Chapter 1 -  Introducing Urban Health and Wellbeing

Introduction

Historical development

Concept

Approaches

Techniques

Relationship with other sciences and social science

National and international institutional mechanisms

Chapter 2 - Urban environment of Delhi and Mumbai

Literature Review

Urban Environmental Change

Urban Heat Island

Impact of Changing Urban Environment on Urban Health

Study area: Urban Environment of Delhi  and Mumbai

Geographical Profile of Study Area: Delhi and Mumbai

Chapter 3 - Changing Urban Environment in Megacities: Delhi and Mumbai

Driving Forces of Urban Environmental Change

Land use/cover Change

Population Change

Vehicular Growth

Trend of air pollution     

Chapter 4 – Urban micro climates: Delhi and Mumbai

Urban environment’

Urban heat island

UHI in India

Spatial Patterns and Trends of LST and UHI in Delhi

Spatial Patterns and Trends of LST, NDVI and NDBI in Delhi

Relationship between LULC, LST, NDVI and NDBI in Delhi

Spatial Patterns and Trends of LST and UHI in Mumbai

Spatial Patterns and Trends of LST, NDVI and NDBI in Mumbai

Relationship between LULC, LST, NDVI and NDBI in Mumbai

Chapter 5 - Urban Health Risk Analysis: Delhi and Mumbai

Introduction

Data Sources and Methodology

Results and Discussion

Impact of Air Pollution on Mortality in India

Temporal Analysis of Mortality from Circulatory and Respiratory system in Delhi

People’s Perception on Urban Environment and Health of Delhi and Mumbai

Chapter 6 - Policy initiatives and other mechanisms

Introduction

Existing Plans and Policy for Health and Wellbeing in Changing Urban Environment

Lacuna in Existing Policies and Plans

Systems Approach and Sustainable Urban Environment

Strategic Planning for Delhi and Mumbai

Dr. Aakriti Grover is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geography, School of Earth Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, India. She specializes in urban environment, urban health, and disaster management and is a World Social Science Fellow. She has published nine research papers in peer-reviewed journals and contributed three chapters to edited books, including a policy brief for the Global Sustainable Development Report by the United Nations.

Offers readers a better understanding of the emerging field of urban health and wellbeing

Describes the relationship between air pollution and urban health

Promotes a systematic approach toward urban health and wellbeing

Discusses the International Council for Science Union initiative toward Future Earth’s Knowledge–Action Networks on human health and wellbeing in changing urban environments