Urban Health: A Dialogue Across Disciplines

[[{"fid":"1489","view_mode":"non_responsive","fields":{"height":"250","width":"167","class":"media-element file-non-responsive","format":"non_responsive","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Michael Chan","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"height":"250","width":"167","class":"media-element file-non-responsive","format":"non_responsive","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Michael Chan","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"250","width":"167","class":"media-element file-non-responsive media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Michael is a strategic leader and advocate for healthy places, spatial planning and public health. He is a Chartered Fellow town planner and honorary member of the Faculty of Public Health. In the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, he leads the Spatial Planning and Health programme with responsibilities for policy development, writing guidance to enable local implementation on using planning levers to deliver healthier homes and places, and actively supporting the workforce across the career pathway and sectors on planning for health. In addition to his University of Bristol PhD research on the local planning system for health, he is active in research collaborations and publications on a wide range of urban health topics and interests including on the food environment. 

[[{"fid":"1490","view_mode":"non_responsive","fields":{"format":"non_responsive","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Geraint Ellis","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"non_responsive","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Geraint Ellis","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"234","width":"167","class":"media-element file-non-responsive media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Dr. Geraint Ellis is a Professor in the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's University, Belfast. Geraint's research interests lie in the broad field of spatial planning and sustainability, with a particular emphasis on environmental governance, renewable energy, marine spatial planning, environmental justice and equality issues in planning. He has also written and researched on pedagogy in planning and environmental education. He has been involved in a range of research projects funded by UK research councils and others, with his most recent projects focussing on renewable energy and the walkability of built environments. 

[[{"fid":"1504","view_mode":"non_responsive","fields":{"height":"200","width":"200","class":"media-element file-non-responsive","format":"non_responsive","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Catalina Turcu","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"non_responsive","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Catalina Turcu","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"2":{"height":"200","width":"200","class":"media-element file-non-responsive","format":"non_responsive","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Catalina Turcu","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"200","width":"200","class":"media-element file-non-responsive media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Catalina Turcu is a Professor of Sustainable Built Environment at the Bartlett School of Planning and the Director of UCL SDG Research Accelerator. Her expertise and research focus on sustainability transformations in the built environment, particularly emphasizing the social and governance aspects of such transformations. Currently, she works on climate change – public health nexus, food insecurity, green infrastructure adaptation and restoring nature in cities. Catalina’s research is challenge-driven and aims to inform and support evidence-based policy and decision-making processes. She frequently provides advice and scientific input to local and national governments, and international organizations such as the EU, World Bank, OECD, UN, and WHO. Currently, Catalina is the Coordinating Lead Author (CLA) for UNEP’s 7th Global Environment Outlook (GEO7) assessment due in 2026, and a Member of the Scoping Panel of scientific reports for IPCC’s assessment 7th cycle (AR7).