Landscape and Health: Effects, Potential and Strategies

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2nd International Conference

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Documents

• Evaluation workshop
  
• Flyer Invitation and Program
• Conference Information for Participants
• Session overview
  

• Proceedings of the 1st Conference (2009)
  

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Urbanisation is leading to densification of cities in many European countries, which in turn leads to changes in landscapes and in landscape qualities, as well as to the loss of near natural landscapes with high recreational value. The lifestyle in our urban society is defined by its hectic pace and lack of exercise, which results in typical lifestyle related diseases. Furthermore the urban lifestyle is known to increase the need for peace, nature and restoration.
Preventive medicine and health promotion actions are actively undertaken to prevent illness and to encourage public health. Furthermore current studies analyse the way in which near natural landscapes, with forests and/or watercourses, provide opportunities for improving the quality of life of large parts of society and for reducing the negative consequences of urban densification on public health.

Topics

(a) Developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the relationship between landscape and health:
Common interdisciplinary perspectives on landscape and health; analysis and assessment of the starting point; perspectives on landscape and health in the context of sustainable development; risks and threats perceived by society.
(b) Determining the relevance of the landscape for health from the perspectives of natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and medical sciences (including environmental medicine):
Empirical knowledge on the effects of landscape and landscape qualities on human health and the relevance of landscape for the physical, psychological and social health of the society; methods for capturing the health impact of landscapes (health impact assessment, fMRI, coritsol, etc.); effects of participation on the health impact of landscapes; the effects of landscape on place identity, the relevance of ecosystem services for health; landscape as a health resource, economic aspects of the health impact of landscapes etc.
(c) Establishing the basis for interdisciplinary communication and policy concerning landscape and health:
Identification and characterisation of action fields and key players in the domain; relevance and demands of communication in light of the sensitising of the relationship between health and landscape; relevance and requirements of interventions in relation to behavioral change, Implementation of findings; discussion of values in connection with landscapes and the demands concerning the health effects of landscapes; Institutional anchoring of landscape and health.Gesundheits­wirkung von Landschaften; Auswirkungen auf die Ortsidentität; Gesundheitsrelevanz der Ecosystems Services; Landschaft als Gesundheits­ressource; Ökonomische Aspekte der Gesundheitswirkungen von Landschaft; usw.

Contact und information

Questions about Conference in general: landschaft.gesundheit@wsl.ch.