We are excited to share that our CEO, Dr. Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo, and our Gender Equality Officer, Dr. Weronika Gąsior, participated in the International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH2024) in Marrakesh, Morocco, to present the results from Work Package 2 of the GreenMe project.
The conference, hosted by the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH), was a success, bringing together urban health experts from around the globe to discuss the current challenges and opportunities of making cities healthier and more equitable.
Green care for mental health equity & and its main players
NeuroLandscape’s contribution to the conference came in the form of a poster titled: “Green care for mental health equity & its main players” (See below).
The poster presented our work on understanding how green spaces, when planned and designed with inclusivity in mind, can truly support mental health and reduce urban inequalities, especially among underrepresented groups. The poster was met with great interest and our conversations with other participants reaffirming the importance of our mission within the global urban health community.
A line that captured the essence of our message came from a talk led by Carolyn Daher of ISGlobal:
“Green spaces as great equalizers of urban inequalities.”
Reflections from the conference
The conference brought together leading voices in the urban health sector. Here are a few reflections that inspired us most:
“Sustainable urban development is not just a choice but a necessity.”
— Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO
“We know what we need to do in terms of urban planning and design, but still need to work more on how we are going to achieve it.”
— Caroly Daher, ISGlobal
“No amount of technical innovation is going to lead to change unless it’s accompanied by change in power and agency.”
— Tolullah Oni, MPH, PhD
“If urban planning was a pill, it would be reimbursed by the health insurance. We have to make sure that the urban health interventions are recognized as real solutions for health and wellbeing.”
— Nathalie Röbbel, Urban Health (WHO)
A (podcast) spotlight moment
Dr. Agnieszka Olszewska-Guizzo was interviewed by Robin Cox on The Good Place Podcast recorded live during the conference.
She spoke about her research work on how different landscape components impact people’s mental health, the Contemplative Landscape Model, and the mission of NeuroLandscape. The full interview is available here.
Concluding thoughts
The ICUH 2024 conference was a great reminder that urban health is a matter of design, justice, and care. But, most importantly, there is still a lot of work to be done. We, at NeuroLandscape, are proud to contribute to the global mission of making cities healthier and more equitable.