Environmental Health, Blue-Green Infrastructure Planning, and Health Equity

Dear Colleagues,

As communities across the globe are facing increasing environmental challenges due to climate change, the relationship between urban planning and environmental health outcomes has become more important than ever, particularly in the context of increasingly inequitable social environments that restrict access to health-promoting environments for marginalized groups. Physical determinants of health, such as built and natural environments, play a key role in the process of planning for equitable societies. In particular, nature-based solutions, such as blue-green infrastructure and its connection to environmental health and equity, has been a topic of research inquiry in the last decade. Blue-green infrastructure has been also linked to the intellectual undertakings of biophilic city concepts, intending to re-introduce flora and fauna into urban environments. In an urban context, blue-green infrastructure means a network of natural and designed landscape elements, such as water bodies, parks, open spaces, trails, urban farms, community gardens, rain gardens, green roofs, tree trenches, and bioswales, which arguably deliver a wide range of ecosystem services and associated environmental, social, economic, and health benefits. Further research is needed to fully understand the role of blue-green infrastructure in environmental planning and management processes to achieve health equity and improved community health and well-being outcomes.

This Special Issue aims to showcase the variety and relevance of recent advances and developments in the intersection of environmental health, blue-green infrastructure planning, and health equity. We seek to understand this intersection through research performed in urban and regional contexts, as well as at neighborhood and city scales, by using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods research.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following: physical determinants of health equity; nature-based solutions, biophilic cities, and green infrastructure planning; climate change, flooding, and stormwater management; urban heat island effects on public health and mitigation efforts; urban agriculture and vacant land cultivation; blue-green infrastructure and environmental justice; environmental education and community stewardship; and public perception of and mental health issues around blue-green infrastructure. Papers focusing on qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches, such as community-based participatory research, participatory photography and storytelling, participatory and visual methodologies, spatial data analysis, modeling, visualization, as well as traditional epidemiological approaches are welcome. We are also interested in new transdisciplinary and transnational conversations and welcome submissions from the Global South. Review papers are also encouraged.

Dr. Mahbubur Meenar
Dr. Megan Heckert
Dr. Helen Cole
Dr. Deepti Adlakha
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.