The Empathic City: An Urban Health and Wellbeing Perspective (S.M.A.R.T. Environments)

This book has a primary focus on inclusions for solutions to problems and not just more on the nature of the current and emerging problems that most other competing titles present. The book is also a true global representation of challenges and opportunities that have been encountered, addressed, and critiqued from a wide variety of contributors rather than academicians per se. In doing so, rather than focusing on techno-centric prowess and associated case studies of the west (as is the case in most competing titles), the book also equally emphasizes upon the vulnerabilities and mitigating solutions being developed and tested in the under-developed and developing nations. Besides this, the book also acquires an ‘Equity’ oriented focus and hints upon sustainable, inclusive modes of shaping our built environment throughout the contributing chapters. The book is also unique in the way it combines the chosen themes to provide a holistic coverage of the broader determinants of urban health and wellbeing, thus being better positioned to address SDG3 within one compact volume. The book also differs from a typical conference proceeding or a non-peer reviewed book since the book’s highly theme specific approach is curated by a scientific peer review committee to carefully maintain diversity of contributions to the book.  

Cities have a profound power to support or hinder human health and wellbeing in countless ways. Achieving greater health equity has emerged in recent years as a key priority and consideration when designing cities to promote health and wellbeing, although there is a dearth of evidence and practical examples of research translation to guide cities and communities. The book accordingly exemplifies a pluralistic approach to achieving urban health equity which recognises and addresses critical aspects of geography, age, race, background, socioeconomic status, disability, gender etc. With interdisciplinary science clearly pointing to the role of the neighbourhood environment as one of the most important health determinants, this book will undoubtedly lead the next generation of urban health actors to build contextually responsive, equitable, empathic cities to benefit residents around the world. The book, rather than being focused purely on academic propositions for building equitable cities, offers a unique multi-stakeholder perspective by collaborating with the International Society for Urban Health’s 18^th International Conference on Urban Health. This unique collaboration allows access to hundreds of scientists, architects, urbanists, multilaterals, policymakers, non-profit leaders, and grassroots organizers. The book captures the voices and concerns of such diverse cross-sectoral professionals and showcases findings that turn evidence into action and impact in communities around the world.

Chapter 14 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.                                    

Dr. Nimish Biloria has multiple years of experience in transdisciplinary innovation within the sectors of urban science, architecture, and interaction design across Europe, Asia, and Australia. After working at one of the world’s premier institutes for Architecture, the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, he is currently working at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) as an Associate Professor. His area of research is Empathic Environments and it involves the study of human–environment interaction with its underpinnings in Architecture, Urban Science, Human Behavior, and Human–Computer Interaction. Under this research umbrella, he has amassed extensive research and design experience in leading multi-scalar transdisciplinary projects spanning the areas of Architecture, Smart Cities, Urban Informatics, Sustainable Mobility, Social Robotics, and Tangible and Embedded Interaction with a primary focus on enhancing human health and wellbeing.

Giselle Sebag, MPH, LEED AP ND is a high-impact, strategic leader with more than 15 years of experience in designing, managing, and guiding multidisciplinary urban health and development initiatives worldwide. She has demonstrated experience in working with complex international contexts and building healthy, inclusive and resilient cities. She also has a proven track record of establishing and maintaining solid working relationships with strategic partners, donors, and clients.

Dr. Hamish Robertson is a geographer with experience in health, ageing, disability and multicultural issues. His PhD research was on the geography of Alzheimer's disease in New South Wales, Australia. Dr. Robertson is interested in spatial science applications in the health, ageing and disability sectors including spatial visualisation as a tool for collaborative research and analysis. He also writes in the areas of big data, health informatics, 'race', diversity and cultural heritage issues.