About
The Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities was initiated by the Global Healthy and Sustainable City-Indicators Collaboration to host the indicators developed for The Lancet Global Health series on Urban Design, Transport and Health. It involves a transdisciplinary and multi-organisational partnership among the People, Health and Place Unit of the Prevention Research Center, of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, USA (website sponsor); the International Society of Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH); the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA); the International Society of Urban Health (ISUH); and the Executive Committee of the Global Healthy and Sustainable City-Indicators Collaboration.
Since its launch in May 2022, the Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities website has had over 6,000 website visits, with 153 unique individuals who have downloaded scorecards and reports. Those downloading reports and scorecards have come from 31 countries and 79 cities and represent 12 different sectors.
Goal of the Observatory
The goal of the Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities is to provide comparable spatial and policy indicators of healthy and sustainable urban design and planning for cities across the globe.
The indicators used in our observatory rely on evidence-based benchmarks, and will allow tracking progress for attaining cities that, by design, maximize people’s health and wellbeing, whilst contributing to climate change mitigation.
Our Vision
We envision that the Observatory will:
Be used as a surveillance, reporting, goal setting, policy making, practical guidance and advocacy tool
Encourage the scaling up of healthy and sustainable urban design and planning efforts.
Provide data comparability across multiple cities of the world.
Grow to include additional city planning indicators and comparable data for over 1000 global cities.
Our Guiding Principles
- Open data and open science
- Interdisciplinary Team science
- Global data for local impact
- Capacity building and equitable international collaborations for long-term sustainability
Our Team
Co-directors
Deborah Salvo
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, USA
Melanie Lowe
RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia
Executive Committee
Billie Giles-Corti
Collaboration Lead
RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia
Geoff Boeing
University of Southern California
Los Ángeles, USA
Melanie Lowe
RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia
Carl Higgs
RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia
Ester Cerin
Australian Catholic University
Melbourne, Australia
James F. Sallis
Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia
Deepti Adlakha
Delft University of Technology
Delft, Netherlands
Erica Hinckson
Auckland University of Technology
Auckland, New Zealand
Deborah Salvo
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, USA
Eugen Resendiz
Membership Director
Doctoral Student
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, USA and México
Jonathan Arundel
RMIT University Honorary
Melbourne, Australia
Anne Vernez Moudon
University of Washington
Seattle, USA
Shiqin Liu
Northeastern University
Boston, USA
Vuokko Heikinheimo
Finnish Environment Institute Syke
Helsinki, Finland
Technical Support Team to the Executive Committee
Andres Ballen
Web and Scorecard Designer
Colombia
Judy Boyce
Administrative Assistant
RMIT University
Melbourne, Australia
Full Research Team of the 2022 Lancet Global Health Series
Africa
Adamu Ahmad Rufai
University of Maiduguri
(Maiduguri, Nigeria Team Member)
Adetoyeje Oyeyemi
University of Maiduguri
(Maiduguri, Nigeria Team Member)
Adewale L. Oyeyemi
University of Maiduguri
(Maiduguri, Nigeria Team Member)
Babatunji Amotara
University of Maiduguri
(Maiduguri, Nigeria Team Member)
Garba Sambo
University of Maiduguri
(Maiduguri, Nigeria Team Member)
Joseph Samali Mshelia
University of Maiduguri
(Maiduguri, Nigeria Team Member)
Asia
Deepti Adlakha
North Carolina State University
(Chennai, India Team Member)
Ester Cerin
Australian Catholic University
(Hong Kong Team Member)
Kornsupha Nitvimol
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
(Bangkok, Thailand Team Member)
Mark Stevenson
University of Melbourne
(Hanoi, Vietnam Team Member)
Minh Hieu Trinh
Deakin University
(Hanoi, Vietnam Team Member)
Poh-chin Lai
The University of Hong Kong
(Hong Kong Team Member)
Thanh Phuong Ho
University of Melbourne
(Hanoi, Vietnam Team Member)
Europe
Ana Queralt
University of Valencia
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Andreia Pizarro
University of Porto
(Lisbon, Portugal Team Member)
Anna Puig-Ribera
Universitat de Vic; Spain
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Anne Luise Mueller
(Cologne, Germany
Team Member)
Bernhard Inninger
University of Graz
Blaise Kropf
City of Berne
(Bern, Switzerland Team Member)
Carme Miralles
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Carolina Duarte
(Lisbon, Portugal Team Member)
Claire Cleland
Queen’s University Belfast
(Belfast, Northern Ireland Team Member)
Claudia Viana
University of Lisbon
(Lisbon, Portugal Team Member)
David Vale
University of Lisbon
(Lisbon, Portugal Team Member)
Delfien Van Dyck
Ghent University
(Ghent, Belgium Team Member)
Frank Witlox
Ghent University
(Ghent, Belgium Team Member)
Guillem Vich Callejo
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij
Ghent University
(Ghent, Belgium Team Member)
Jan Dygryn
Palacky University in Olomouc
(Olomuc, Czechia Team Member)
Jasper Schipperijn
University of Southern Denmark
(Odense, Denmark Team Member)
Javier Molina-Garcia
University of Valencia
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Jens Troelsen
University of Southern Denmark
(Odense, Denmark Team Member)
Joan Carles Martori
Universitat de Vic; Spain
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Josef Mitas
Palacky University in Olomouc
(Olomuc, Czechia Team Member)
Karel Fromel
Palacky University in Olomouc
(Olomuc, Czechia Team Member)
Klaus Gebel
University of Technology Sydney
(Graz, Austria; Cologne, Germany and Bern, Switzerland Team Member)
Lars Breum Christiansen
University of Southern Denmark
(Odense, Denmark Team Member)
Lea Manakova
Palacky University in Olomouc
Marcel Beyeler
City of Berne
(Bern, Switzerland Team Member)
Marta Rofin
The Polytechnic University of Catalonia
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Matte Dewinter
Ghent University
(Ghent, Belgium Team Member)
Michal Vorhcek
Palacky University in Olomouc
(Olomuc, Czechia Team Member)
Nico Van de Weghe
Ghent University
(Ghent, Belgium Team Member)
Oliver Konrad
University of Graz
(Graz, Austria Team Member)
Paula Santos
University of Porto
(Lisbon, Portugal Team Member)
Ruth Hunter
Queen’s University Belfast
(Belfast, Northern Ireland Team Member)
Sara Ferguson
Queen’s University Belfast
(Belfast, Northern Ireland Team Member)
Sien Benoit
Ghent University
(Bern, Switzerland Team Member)
Susana Aznar-Lain
University of Castilla la Mancha
(Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Sylvia Titze
University of Graz
(Graz, Austria Team Member)
Xavier Delclos
Universitat Rovira I Virgili
(Olomuc, Czechia; Barcelona, Valencia and Vic, Spain Team Member)
Oceania
Billie Giles-Corti
RMIT University
(Adelaid, Meblourne and Sydney, Australia Team Member)
Carl Higgs
RMIT University
(Adelaid, Meblourne and Sydney, Australia Team Member)
Erica Hinckson
Auckland University of Technology
(Auckland, New Zealand Team Member)
Ester Cerin
Australian Catholic University
(Hong Kong Team Member)
Jonathan Arundel
RMIT University
(Adelaid, Meblourne and Sydney, Australia Team Member)
Melanie Lowe
University of Melbourne
(Adelaid, Meblourne and Sydney, Australia Team Member)
Pinki Bhasin
University of Melbourne
(Adelaid, Meblourne and Sydney, Australia Team Member)
Suzanne Mavoa
University of Melbourne
(Auckland, New Zealand Team Member)
Tamara Bozovic
Auckland University of Technology
(Auckland, New Zealand Team Member)
The Americas
Alex Florindo
University of Sao Paulo Brazil
(Sao Paulo, Brazil Team Member)
Deborah Salvo
Washington University in St. Louis
(Mexico City, Mexico Team Member)
Eugen Resendiz
Washington University
(Mexico City, Mexico Team Member)
Hannah Hook
Arizona State University
(Baltimore, Seattle and Phoenix, USA Team Member)
Jacob Carson
Arizona State University
(Baltimore, Seattle and Phoenix, USA Team Member)
Jennifer D. Roberts
The University of Maryland
(Baltimore, Seattle and Phoenix, USA Team Member)
Jim Sallis
Australian Catholic University, Melbourne
(Baltimore, Seattle and Phoenix, USA Team Member)
Ligia Vizeu Barrozo
University of Sao Paulo Brazil
(Sao Paulo, Brazil Team Member)
Marc Adams
Arizona State University
(Baltimore, Seattle and Phoenix, USA Team Member)
Additional research expertise
Alex Kleeman
RMIT University
Australia
David Flores
University of South California
USA
Grant Schofield
Auckland University of Technology
New Zealand
Hannah Badland
RMIT University
Australia
Howard Frumkin
University of Washington
USA
Kelli Cain
University of California
USA
Larry Frank
RMIT University
Australia
Mark Nieuwenhuijsen
The Barcelona Institute of Global Health
Spain
Nevile Owen
Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute
Australia
Nick Cerdera
University of South California
USA
Olga Lucia Sarmiento
Universidad de los Andes
Colombia
Perla Mansour
Queen’s University Belfast
Northern Ireland
Rachel Davey
University of Canberra
Australia
Rodrigo Reis
Washington University in St. Louis
Brazil and USA
Sarah Bekessy
RMIT University
Australia
Sarah Foster
RMIT University
Australia
Spartial Vision
Australia
Terry Conway
University of California
USA
Thiago de Sa
WHO headquarters
WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
Thu Nguyen
University of South California
USA
Yuquan Zhou
University of South California
USA
Observatory Sponsors
Key Global Partnerships
