DESIGN & PUBLIC HEALTH. Can salutogenic cities, healthy buildings and the hospital of the future fix the emerging global Public Health challenges, through equity, inclusion, and sustainability?
1
Design & Health Lab, WHO Collaborating Center, Department of Architecture, Built environment and Construction engineering (ABC), Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
2
Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
3
Institute of Construction Design, Industrial and Health Care Building, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
4
Department of Public Health, University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer, Leer, Germany
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A417
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Global Public Health challenges cross disciplinary boundaries. Built environment, outdoor and indoor, is a major determinant of population health, with nearly 24% of the global burden of disease attributable to environmental factors i.e. housing, infrastructures, urban environment, indoor and outdoor exposures (1). Its relevance is recognised as emerging Public Health field (2). Over 55% of people live in urban areas where poor design increases exposure to pollution, heat, inactivity, and unequal access to care (3). In healthcare settings, hospital architecture affects infection prevention, patient recovery, staff wellbeing, and system resilience, requiring new paradigms (4). Design expertise remains insufficiently embedded in Public Health policies.
METHODS:
This interactive skill-building seminar session combines brief evidence inputs, real-world case studies, and facilitated co-design exercises. Experience-based cases will address the relationship between built environment and health at three levels: urban health, hospital design, and healthy buildings. Participants engage in interactive guided groups activities to discover how design professionals can support Public Health strategies, policies, and governance.
RESULTS:
Participants will gain understanding of how design decisions affect exposure reduction, infection control, wellbeing, and health equity. Evidence links indoor environmental quality and ventilation to improved cognition and wellbeing (5). Research shows environmental and social contexts interact with biological processes across life, affecting ageing and mortality (6).
CONCLUSIONS:
Integrating design and public health enables effective, equitable, and sustainable policies and embeds design expertise into decision making across hospitals, cities, and buildings (7–8). Tentative program • Design and Public Health: framing the challenge – B.Borisch, WFPHA • Hospital design and health system resilience. S.Capolongo, POLIMI WHO CC, Italy • Urban health and social determinants. J.Lindert, University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer • Healthy buildings and environmental performance. W.Sunder, University of Braunschweig • Interactive discussion and co-design. Design&Health Lab, POLIMI WHO CC, Italy • Working group roadmap and actions
Global Public Health challenges cross disciplinary boundaries. Built environment, outdoor and indoor, is a major determinant of population health, with nearly 24% of the global burden of disease attributable to environmental factors i.e. housing, infrastructures, urban environment, indoor and outdoor exposures (1). Its relevance is recognised as emerging Public Health field (2). Over 55% of people live in urban areas where poor design increases exposure to pollution, heat, inactivity, and unequal access to care (3). In healthcare settings, hospital architecture affects infection prevention, patient recovery, staff wellbeing, and system resilience, requiring new paradigms (4). Design expertise remains insufficiently embedded in Public Health policies.
METHODS:
This interactive skill-building seminar session combines brief evidence inputs, real-world case studies, and facilitated co-design exercises. Experience-based cases will address the relationship between built environment and health at three levels: urban health, hospital design, and healthy buildings. Participants engage in interactive guided groups activities to discover how design professionals can support Public Health strategies, policies, and governance.
RESULTS:
Participants will gain understanding of how design decisions affect exposure reduction, infection control, wellbeing, and health equity. Evidence links indoor environmental quality and ventilation to improved cognition and wellbeing (5). Research shows environmental and social contexts interact with biological processes across life, affecting ageing and mortality (6).
CONCLUSIONS:
Integrating design and public health enables effective, equitable, and sustainable policies and embeds design expertise into decision making across hospitals, cities, and buildings (7–8). Tentative program • Design and Public Health: framing the challenge – B.Borisch, WFPHA • Hospital design and health system resilience. S.Capolongo, POLIMI WHO CC, Italy • Urban health and social determinants. J.Lindert, University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer • Healthy buildings and environmental performance. W.Sunder, University of Braunschweig • Interactive discussion and co-design. Design&Health Lab, POLIMI WHO CC, Italy • Working group roadmap and actions
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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