Resistant Cities

Despite many previous and recent pandemic outbreaks in urban areas and rapid global urbanization, consideration of infectious disease prevention in urban planning has largely been neglected.

The RECIPE project explores the role of urban living environments and the potential of urban planning in anticipation and prevention of infectious diseases and thus pandemic outbreaks. The project combines expertise from the fields of environmental research, environmental health, history, information studies, public health, and urban planning. The project engages citizens, SMEs, planners and health professionals, cross-sectional institutions, and decision makers. The project provides new scientific knowledge of the linkages between urban living environments and health, deepens societal understanding of the linkages, develops tools and methods for resistant urban planning, and encourages cross-sectorial discussions and integrative policies between urban planning and health sectors.

The RECIPE WP’s and the respective PI’s are:

WP1 Management and coordination University of Oulu, Oulu School of Architecture, Urban Planning, Professor Helka-Liisa Hentilä

WP2 Interaction and communication University of Oulu, Information Science, Postdoctoral researcher Anna Suorsa

WP3 Pandemics and epidemics in urban planning history University of Oulu, Health History, Professor Heini Hakosalo

WP4 Biodiversity and soil microbiome Natural Resources Institute Finland, Research professor Hannu Fritze

WP5 Environmental impacts on health and wellbeing Oulu Deaconess Institute ODL and University of Oulu, CERH, Professor Raija Korpelainen and Professor Tiina Ikäheimo

WP6 Urban planning solutions and policies University of Oulu, Urban Planning, Postdoctoral researcher, Docent Emilia Rönkkö

Consortium member: Filha ry, Professor Tuula Vasankari