Linking environment, climate and health (BlueHealth)

BlueHealth is a pan-European research initiative investigating the links between urban blue spaces, climate and health. It is combining interdisciplinary approaches to examine how wellbeing might be promoted through the development of blue infrastructure.

To characterise and quantify the health and wellbeing benefits of blue infrastructure, BlueHealth brought together researchers from across Europe to systematically explore the impacts that urban waterways can have on health.

Between 2016 and 2020 over 20 studies were conducted in more than 18 different countries across the world. The team designed and implemented interventions at several sites in Spain, Italy, Estonia, Portugal, and the UK, as well as created a series of tools to assess these initiatives, and developed protocols for others to do the same.

Researchers have been at the forefront of new technologies, using virtual reality to bring blue space experiences to those who cannot access them. Workshops were conducted in cities across Europe, and scenarios were developed to plan for the future. Over 18,000 people across Europe were surveyed to uncover population-level relationships between blue spaces and health.

The BlueHealth Toolbox has been developed within the BlueHealth project.