Abstract

Spatial differences in urban environmental conditions contribute to health inequalities within cities. The purpose of the paper is to map environmental inequalities relevant for health in the City of Dortmund, Germany, in order to identify needs for planning interventions. We develop suitable indicators for mapping socioeconomically-driven environmental inequalities at the neighborhood level based on published scientific evidence and inputs from local stakeholders. Relationships between socioeconomic and environmental indicators at the level of 170 neighborhoods were analyzed continuously with Spearman rank correlation coefficients and categorically applying chi-squared tests. Reclassified socioeconomic and environmental indicators were then mapped at the neighborhood level in order to determine multiple environmental burdens and hotspots of environmental inequalities related to health. Results show that the majority of environmental indicators correlate significantly, leading to multiple environmental burdens in specific neighborhoods. Some of these neighborhoods also have significantly larger proportions of inhabitants of a lower socioeconomic position indicating hotspots of environmental inequalities. Suitable planning interventions mainly comprise transport planning and green space management. In the conclusions, we discuss how the analysis can be used to improve state of the art planning instruments, such as clean air action planning or noise reduction planning towards the consideration of the vulnerability of the population.

Highlights

  • IntroductionProgramme) acknowledge in their 2010 report The Hidden Cities that “Where in a city you live and how the city is governed can determine whether or not one benefits from city living” [1]

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Habitat (United Nations Human SettlementsProgramme) acknowledge in their 2010 report The Hidden Cities that “Where in a city you live and how the city is governed can determine whether or not one benefits from city living” [1]

  • We carry out a similar analysis of the environmental indicators, including an analysis of multiple environmental burdens

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Summary

Introduction

Programme) acknowledge in their 2010 report The Hidden Cities that “Where in a city you live and how the city is governed can determine whether or not one benefits from city living” [1]. Such spatial differences in urban areas resulting from environmental conditions in which people grow, live, work and age contribute to health inequalities within cities [2]. Two explanations for spatial health inequalities are discussed. At the level of aggregated data, health differences between populations of different areas can be attributed to. Public Health 2016, 13, 711; doi:10.3390/ijerph13070711 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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