Urban environment, unhealthy buildings as a root of inequalities and importance of SDGs

Abstract

Abstract The current pandemic reinforced inequalities and injustice on multiple levels: health, social, and especially urban environment. Cities represent human prosperity and wealth, but also inequity, and health detrimental environments lacking green spaces and sufficiently good air quality, transportation, water supply. Emergencies like COVID-19 pandemic, but also other natural disasters like earthquake and humanitarian crisis have brought a renewed interest in the urban environment and healthy living. With the special circumstances, last year's special attention from public health has become an urban environment concern. The built natural environment, various public spaces like urban parks and forests, transportation hubs and urban open public spaces, are not only significant factors influencing the spread of infectious diseases, but those spaces also have protective roles for health, particularly mental health. There are a lot of examples which reflect increased inequalities in urban areas. Various urban facilities and buildings are in very unhealthy conditions and produce a lot of risks for their inhabitants. Public spaces revealed influential properties for older patients, whereas middle and young-aged adults were more influenced by traveling and the location of business services. The ethnic and minority vulnerability has also a legacy of historical issues in urban planning and unhealthy buildings. This is characterized by diverse racial and minority group populations, with the increased risk from COVID- 19, but also noticeably lower accessibility to green open areas for physical activity. It seems that the Covid crisis have increased the risk of slowing down the achievement of sustainable development goals in urban areas: It is especially important to re-examine the goals and prevent the slowdown in progress towards goals 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 10 (inequalities) in connection with SDG 3 Health) and SDG 17 (strong global partnerships).