COVID-19: the health impact of confinement in Barcelona, ​​Vienna and Stockholm | urban objects | future planet

One of the positive effects of the pandemic has been the reduction in air pollution and noise levels in cities, with hitherto unprecedented data. Another effect was a sharp decrease in physical activity and access to green spaces. The consequences of these changes for people’s health varied depending on the rigor of confinement measures in each setting and the local context. This provided very valuable data on how emergency measures affect the health of the population.

Recently, a A study published in Environmental Pollutionled Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) Try to analyze the lessons that can be drawn from these impacts to help cities design better urban planning policies and prepare them for future emergencies.

The research team selected three European cities with varying degrees of lockdown measures: Barcelona, ​​where a strict lockdown has been imposed; Stockholm, where the measures were more lenient and subject to individual responsibility and common sense; and Vienna, which had some intermediate measures.

For each of the three cities, they collected data on air pollution, noise and physical activity from three different points in time: before the pandemic, during stricter lockdowns, and in the post-dismantling period. The study calculated the differences between these levels and compared them with data from health systems. It was compared, on the one hand, with the number of annual diagnoses of myocardial infarction, stroke, depression and anxiety. On the other hand, it estimated what would have been avoided if changes in air pollution, noise, physical activity and visits to green spaces had continued for a year.

The first obvious conclusion was that the city with the most stringent blockade (of the three analyzed, Barcelona) was also the city that recorded the largest reductions in air pollution, noise, physical activity, and visits to green spaces. Specifically, during the first shutdown, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations decreased by 50% on average, daily noise levels decreased by 5 dB (dB A), and physical activity decreased by 95% (in Vienna, for example, NO2 decreased by 22% and physical activity decreased by 76%; in Stockholm it decreased NO2 by only 9% and physical activity by 42%).

The most interesting thing about the study was to simulate the effect that confinement measures would have had if they were extended for an entire year. It is estimated in this case that lower NO2 concentrations in Barcelona could have prevented 5% of myocardial infarctions, 6% of strokes, and 11% of depression diagnoses. In Vienna, the reductions would be 1% for strokes and myocardial infarctions and 2% for cases of depression. And in Stockholm, only 1% of depression diagnoses were observed to be prevented. Something similar happens with noise pollution.

Lack of physical activity and prolonged exposure to green space for a year in Barcelona would have resulted in a 10% increase in strokes and heart attacks

However, as Sarah Koch, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study, summarizes, the balance is negative: “Despite the differences observed in the three cities, a pattern is recurring that the health benefits that could result from improved air quality and noise will not offset the effects. The profound negativity of low levels of physical activity.”

Lack of physical activity and prolonged exposure to green space for a year in Barcelona would have resulted in a 10% increase in strokes and myocardial infarctions and an 8% and 12% increase each in depression and anxiety diagnoses.

Something similar is happening in Vienna: a decrease in physical activity may lead to a 5% increase in stroke and a 4% and 7% increase in diagnoses of depression and anxiety, respectively.

The study shows that physical activity and prolonged access to green spaces are among the factors with the greatest impact on health. Likewise, it concludes by emphasizing the need to reconsider the transformation of cities and rethink public policies for the redesign of urban space.

“New urban models are required according to our current situation,” said Mark Neuenhuijsen, Director of the Air Pollution and Urban Environment Program at IS Global. “These models should share the goal of reducing the use of private motorized transportation and increasing public and active transportation, which means, above all, walking and cycling.”

The study found that these changes in the urban model, can pass superillas Barcelona Welcome The city is 15 minutes from Paris, They are most effective in reducing air pollution, noise, and heat island effects (the warming of cities due to heat-absorbing materials in construction and human activity). They also make it easier to increase physical activity and generate more direct access to green spaces. As a result, they promote and improve human health.