Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways
Climate-related hazards such as heatwaves, flooding, wildfires, and storms will increase morbidity and mortality unless infrastructure decision-makers—including urban planners, infrastructure asset managers, and utility providers—implement preventive measures to protect public health from these haza...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acfabd |
| _version_ | 1827781634448949248 |
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| author | Maria Ikonomova Kristen MacAskill |
| author_facet | Maria Ikonomova Kristen MacAskill |
| author_sort | Maria Ikonomova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate-related hazards such as heatwaves, flooding, wildfires, and storms will increase morbidity and mortality unless infrastructure decision-makers—including urban planners, infrastructure asset managers, and utility providers—implement preventive measures to protect public health from these hazards. Existing research and policies have not systematically identified the key risk factors that these decision-makers need to manage to protect public health in a changing climate. This gap leads to unclarity regarding what infrastructure interventions are required to prevent climate-related health risks and what actors have a responsibility to manage these risks. The Climate-Health-Infrastructure-Pathways Model is introduced in this paper to address this gap and provide a conceptual map that captures the role of physical infrastructure systems in the pathways between climate-related hazards and health risks. The model surpasses what can be found in existing climate change research and policy, including the latest IPCC reporting, and is a conceptual qualitative tool that offers a typology of climate and health risks for infrastructure management. Decision-makers can use the model as a starting point to review the coverage of their current climate risk management plans and identify further opportunities to develop preventive infrastructure responses to protect public health in a changing climate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:21:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c5db8c63cd49408d831405cceb83e7b0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2634-4505 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:21:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-c5db8c63cd49408d831405cceb83e7b02023-10-28T10:35:45ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability2634-45052023-01-013404500110.1088/2634-4505/acfabdClimate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathwaysMaria Ikonomova0https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4495-1826Kristen MacAskill1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5995-6777Centre for Sustainable Development, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , Cambridge, United KingdomCentre for Sustainable Development, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge , Cambridge, United KingdomClimate-related hazards such as heatwaves, flooding, wildfires, and storms will increase morbidity and mortality unless infrastructure decision-makers—including urban planners, infrastructure asset managers, and utility providers—implement preventive measures to protect public health from these hazards. Existing research and policies have not systematically identified the key risk factors that these decision-makers need to manage to protect public health in a changing climate. This gap leads to unclarity regarding what infrastructure interventions are required to prevent climate-related health risks and what actors have a responsibility to manage these risks. The Climate-Health-Infrastructure-Pathways Model is introduced in this paper to address this gap and provide a conceptual map that captures the role of physical infrastructure systems in the pathways between climate-related hazards and health risks. The model surpasses what can be found in existing climate change research and policy, including the latest IPCC reporting, and is a conceptual qualitative tool that offers a typology of climate and health risks for infrastructure management. Decision-makers can use the model as a starting point to review the coverage of their current climate risk management plans and identify further opportunities to develop preventive infrastructure responses to protect public health in a changing climate.https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acfabdclimate changephysical infrastructure systemspublic healthrisk management |
| spellingShingle | Maria Ikonomova Kristen MacAskill Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability climate change physical infrastructure systems public health risk management |
| title | Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways |
| title_full | Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways |
| title_fullStr | Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways |
| title_short | Climate change hazards, physical infrastructure systems, and public health pathways |
| title_sort | climate change hazards physical infrastructure systems and public health pathways |
| topic | climate change physical infrastructure systems public health risk management |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acfabd |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariaikonomova climatechangehazardsphysicalinfrastructuresystemsandpublichealthpathways AT kristenmacaskill climatechangehazardsphysicalinfrastructuresystemsandpublichealthpathways |