Building a Healthy Urban Design Index (HUDI): how to promote health and sustainability in European cities

Montana, Federica; Mueller, Natalie; Barboza, Evelise Pereira; Khomenko, Sasha; Iungman, Tamara; Cirach, Marta; Daher, Carolyn; Chakraborty, TC; de Hoogh, Kees; Battiston, Alice; Schifanella, Rossano; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(25)00109-3

Building a Healthy Urban Design Index (HUDI): how to promote health and sustainability in European cities

Journal Article · Wed Jun 11 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · The Lancet. Planetary Health

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(25)00109-3· OSTI ID:2571355

Montana, Federica ^[1]; Mueller, Natalie ^[1]; Barboza, Evelise Pereira ^[1]; Khomenko, Sasha ^[1]; Iungman, Tamara ^[1]; Cirach, Marta ^[1]; Daher, Carolyn ^[1]; Chakraborty, TC ^[2]; de Hoogh, Kees ^[3]; Battiston, Alice ^[4]; Schifanella, Rossano ^[5]; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark ^[1]

Institute for Global Health, Barcelona (Spain); Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona (Spain); CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Madrid (Spain)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel (Switzerland)
Univ. of Turin (Italy)
Univ. of Turin (Italy); ISI Foundation, Turin (Italy)

As global urbanisation accelerates, alongside declining environmental quality and increasing climate challenges, it is increasingly vital for urban planners and policy makers to integrate health and wellbeing considerations into urban planning. This study introduces the Healthy Urban Design Index (HUDI), a high-resolution spatial index developed for European cities. HUDI combines policy-relevant indicators related to urban design, sustainable transportation, environmental quality, and greenspace accessibility—key factors influencing human health and well-being. Unlike existing indices, which often focus on few or large metropolitan cities and lack spatial granularity, HUDI offers high resolution and extends its scope to small-sized and medium-sized cities, home to over 50% of Europe's population.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Horizon Europe; MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 2571355

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--202830

Journal Information:: The Lancet. Planetary Health, Journal Name: The Lancet. Planetary Health Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 9; ISSN 2542-5196

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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