Urban Resilience and Population Health

Dear Colleagues,

Cities in many parts of the world are often on the verge of their resilience due to climate change. Among the effects that this climate change produces, there is an increase in the frequency and duration of heat waves that directly and indirectly affect the well-being and health of populations.

The negative consequences on human health are undoubtedly the most important climatic threats in urban areas, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and the sick.

Epidemiological studies conducted after the 2003 heat wave documented the negative effects of extreme temperature on health and strongly emphasized the role of the urban heat island.

Therefore, the urgency of the need for the development of adaptation strategies capable of reducing the strong influences on citizens' health and particularly on the most vulnerable is clear. The main adaptation strategies could interest not only local health units but different sectors of the community, and include short- and long-term actions. In the short term, for example, early warning systems can be very useful tools for providing strategic information to communities in order to react appropriately to extreme weather events. In the long term, the strategic forms of urban adaptation to climate change include real urban regenerations such as keeping fragile segments of the population in a safe environment.

This Special Issue aims to investigate the state-of-the-art of the urban regeneration linked to local microclimate and to the protection of the public health under the various aspects of the city environment. Furthermore, special consideration will be devoted to identifying the most vulnerable subgroups of the population and to social and health systems capable of increasing the city’s health-prevention potential and resilience.

Dr. Teodoro Georgiadis
Dr. Letizia Cremonini
Dr. Paolo Pandolfi
Dr. Vincenza Perlangeli
Guest Editors

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