New BC3 research reveals the secret to restoring the Galapagos Islands
hiriZAIN launched: a new tool to integrate health and climate action into urban planning
Climate change is one of the major challenges facing public health, while also offering an opportunity to transform urban environments into safer, healthier, more inclusive and resilient places. Achieving this requires ensuring that the benefits of climate action reach the entire population and contribute to reducing health inequalities.
In this context, BC3 has contributed to the development of hiriZAIN, a new web-based tool designed to integrate health, equity and climate action into urban planning.
The tool builds on a methodology originally developed in 2014 within Udalsarea 2030, the Basque Network of Sustainable Municipalities. This methodology has subsequently been reviewed, expanded and adapted to the current climate context through the LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project, with the participation of the Basque Government’s Department of Health, Ihobe and BC3.
hiriZAIN is intended to support municipal technical staff, policymakers and other stakeholders involved in the planning, development and evaluation of urban policies, plans and projects. The tool facilitates the systematic incorporation of health, equity and climate action criteria into decision-making, helping to identify potential impacts, opportunities and inequalities associated with urban interventions.
“Urban planning decisions are not neutral: they influence health, shape our capacity to adapt to climate change and can either reduce or reinforce existing inequalities. hiriZAIN helps anticipate these effects and systematically integrate health, equity and climate resilience criteria into urban planning,” explain the team of BC3 researchers who contributed to the methodological review and update of the tool.
The application enables urban plans, policies and projects to be assessed in terms of their potential effects on health, equity and climate resilience.
