ICS Estudos e Relatórios Nº1 / 2019

ICS E S T U D O S e R E L A T Ó R I O S 2019 resilient to the projected increase in heatwave episodes, by expanding green/natural areas within the urban tissue. This is a task that also involves targeting the most critical urban locations first, based on irrefutable evidence. It is also fundamental that public health surveillance tasks are executed periodically and systematically, and those risk models are developed to deal with different urban contexts, specifical cities in widely varying geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The development of different risk models adapted to different urban settings raises; however, the question of their comparability in a more regional or global perspective. Therefore, there should also be an effort to develop and apply methods and metrics allowing to compare the results of different models, not only in terms of their efficiency and accuracy but also to make possible the joint evaluation of risk assessments obtained from widely different contexts. This way, we can gain more comprehensive and accurate regional or global perspectives on the present and projected impacts to urban human health and well-being under climate change. An example to consider, amongst others, is the statistical approach developed for the Global Burden of Disease Project. Policy Recommendations 1. In implementing a systems approach, it is essential to invest effort in understanding the local context, including the decision-making culture, process, and power relations. 2. Ultimately, transformations to sustainable and healthy cities will require cultural transformations, one prerequisite for which is to imagine different ways of living. 3. Implementation of a systems approach for urban health under climate change should integrate a robust public health surveillance component executed periodically and systematically and strengthened by the application of risk models for major threats to the urban population within different geographic and socioeconomic contexts.