Oct. 21, 2021, 07:00-08:30 (UTC), 15:00-16:30 Beijing (UTC+8)

Register for the session: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpce2tqzwiG91XzEJ-8sShw10JnYzj2st4 

Session organiser: Franz W. Gatzweiler 

Session Description:

Current planetary health conditions culminate and often also originate in cities. Cities are complex systems which have beneficial but also detrimental impacts on human health and wellbeing. Green spaces in cities are meant to improve health and wellbeing by the many functions they provide, which include recreational, cultural and ecological regulation functions like water and microclimate regulation and biodiversity conservation. However, due to the complex nature of urban green spaces and their interactions, synergies and trade-offs with other urban bio-physical, technological and social systems, there is limited knowledge on how to integrate them into the urban landscape in order to maximise their health co-benefits.

Collaborative Systems Modelling (CSM) can help better understand those complex relations and can provide decision support for urban planners, decision-makers and citizens on how to plan, manage and make use of urban green spaces. Further, it has been suggested, that CSM can complement the monitoring of conventional urban observatories in order to increase a city's adaptive capacity and systems intelligence.

This session will present the rationale, the process and the outcomes of a Collaborative Systems Modelling Workshop carried out for a green space in the city of Guangzhou, China. The presentation is followed by a panel discussion on the findings of the modelling workshop, the type and quality of data, the value of a participatory and collaborative approach and the prospects of the CSM being added to urban monitoring activities, in order to improve health and wellbeing in cities and be better prepared for and ideally prevent future health emergencies.