THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

DEPARTMENT OF URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN

Master of Urban Studies and Housing Management Degree

Course title: MCHD7002 Principles of Healthy Cities

Teacher(s): Dr Chinmoy Sarkar (csarkar@hku.hk)

Dr. Ka Yan Lai (kyylai@hku.hk)
Group Project Coordinator: Dr Ka Yan Lai (kyylai@hku.hk)

Dates: First Semester 2023/2024 Lectures: Fridays, 16:00-19:00

(2.5-hour lectures finish at 18.30)

Start Date: 8 September 2023

Venue: MWT4, 1/F, Meng Wah Complex, The University of Hong Kong

I. Course description and objectives:

This is a theoretical course focusing on fundamental concepts, theories and models on a

wide range of emerging urban health issues at local, regional and global scales. The aim is
to employ systems thinking to elucidate the intrinsic multifactorial interactions between
urban space and human behaviour and lifestyle resulting in the socio-spatial production of
health. Urban planning, design and policy aspects at building-, neighbourhood- and city-
levels promoting active-living, salutogenicity, social cohesion and racial inclusivity, age-
friendliness, climate change-resilience, pandemic-resilience and longevity-readiness, and
their role in population health and wellbeing will be discussed. The course aims to:
1. Describe the fundamental concepts and models of linkages of built, natural and social
environments with health and wellbeing.
2. Systematically appraise multi-context scientific evidences for creating healthy places and
cities.
3. Synthesize innovative solutions for developing, designing and retrofitting built
environment for creating healthy places and cities.
4. Apply integrated concepts and methodologies derived from multiple disciplines (city
planning, urban design, environment sciences, public health and urban epidemiology) to
recommend healthy cities policies.

II. Expected course learning outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate foundational knowledge of relevant theories, policies and practices related
to urban planning and design and its links to population health.
2. Understand the underlying interactions of density, design, configuration and planning of
urban spaces with individual’s behaviour and lifestyle in the socio-spatial production of
population health.
3. Appraise and interpret existing scientific and practice evidence and knowledgebase at
local, regional and international levels.
4. Apply healthy cities principles and concepts to recommend strategies for health-specific
urban planning and policies to minimize and manage associated health externalities.
5. Undertake a collaborative and cohesive role integrating knowledge and expertise
1
between key stakeholders upholding utmost professional and ethical standards.

2
III. Alignment of Program Learning Outcomes and Course Learning Outcomes

University Educational Aims (UEAs) for Taught Postgraduate Programmes

1. Critical intellectual enquiry and acquiring up-to-date knowledge and research skills in a
discipline / profession;
2. Application of knowledge and research skills to practice or theoretical exploration,
demonstrating originality and creativity;
3. Tackling novel situations and ill-defined problems;
4. Collaboration and communication of disciplinary knowledge to specialists and the general
public;
5. Awareness of and adherence to personal and professional ethics.
6. Enhancement of leadership and advocacy skills in a profession. (for professional programmes
only)

Program Learning Outcomes (SUBJECT TO APPROVAL) University

Educational Aims
1. In-depth understanding of urban and housing management issues and 1
their theoretical underpinnings.
2. Ability to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of urban and 1
housing management theories.
3. Ability to apply research skills to identify and tackle complex urban and 2
housing problems.
4. Ability to apply new tools and technologies to develop solutions to 3
new urban and housing problems.
5. Appreciation of the diverse needs and values of different stakeholders and 4
ability to communicate effectively with them in urban and housing
management practices.
6. Appreciation of the importance of upholding professional standards and 5
ethics in urban and housing management practices.
7. An international outlook to deal with local urban and housing issues. 2
8. A good understanding of the contribution of urban and housing 6
management professionals to the improvement of the human condition,
including enhancement of urban sustainability.

Program
Course Learning Outcomes Learning
Outcomes
1. Demonstrate foundational knowledge of relevant theories, policies and
practices related to urban planning and design and its links to population 1, 2
health.
2. Understand the underlying interactions of density, design, configuration
and planning of urban spaces with individual’s behaviour and lifestyle in 1, 2, 3
the socio-spatial production of population health.
3. Appraise and interpret existing scientific and practice evidence and
4, 5, 7
knowledgebase at local, regional and international levels.
4. Apply healthy cities principles and concepts to recommend strategies for
health-specific urban planning and policies to minimize and manage 6, 8
associated health externalities.
5. Undertake a collaborative and cohesive role integrating knowledge and
expertise between key stakeholders upholding utmost professional and 5, 6
ethical standards.
3
IV. Teaching and Learning Activities

The course comprise of a mix of lectures, individual assignment and group assignment to
help achieve course objectives and fulfill the learning outcomes. Lectures on myriad aspects
of Healthy Cities will be enable students develop foundational knowledge and conceptual
frameworks as well as appraise existing evidence. Examples and case studies will be drawn
from across the globe. Small-group breakout sessions and presentations will enable
brainstorming on key issues. Two guest lectures have been arranged wherein the invited
speakers leading academics will discuss about their work and expertise. In addition to
attending the lectures, the students are also encouraged to go through the recommended
readings to further supplement knowledge and enhance creative thinking towards
applicability.

The individual and group assignments will enable the students to integrate and synthesize
the knowledge and competencies acquired from lectures towards understanding and
investigating important questions related to urban design and planning for population
health. For the individual term paper, the students will required to produce an essay on one
of the keys topics on healthy cities and urban health. In the group project, the student will
have the opportunity to work collaboratively within a small team; brainstorming
hypotheses, study designs, locating and mining relevant data, performing analysis,
interpreting results and compiling a concise report as well as presenting their findings in
clear and stimulating manner as well. Q&A session will arouse insightful discussions and
involve addressing queries by group members with flair. The aim of the assignment is to
develop critical thinking and to deepen their understanding of the course contents. Stress
will be on understanding of key concepts, abilities to: construct coherent arguments,
criticise and evaluate, link data to analysis as well as propose creative problem-solving and
sound recommendations

4
V. Assessments:

Assessment tasks
Assessment for this course will comprise of the following three elements:
Class participation and in-class exercise*: 15%
Individual term paper: 40%
Group project: 45%

Submission dates:
Term paper: 20 November 2023
Group project: 30 November 2023

Please note: In order to pass the course, students are required to get the Pass grade and
above for all assignments.

Please refer to the assessment criteria on page 5 and details of assignments on page 7.

*In-class exercise will comprise break-out small group discussions and presentation. This
will also involve use of generative AI for access to information on a chosen topic.

Teaching & Assessment tasks

Course Learning Outcomes
learning activities
1. Demonstrate foundational knowledge Lectures, readings, Group project,
of relevant theories, policies and class discussion, and Term paper
practices related to urban planning essay preparation
and design and its links to population
health.
2. Understand the underlying Lectures, readings, Group project,
interactions of density, design, class discussion, and Term paper
configuration and planning of urban essay preparation
spaces with individual’s behaviour
and lifestyle in the socio-spatial
production of population health.
3. Appraise and interpret existing Lectures, readings, Group project,
scientific and practice evidence and and essay preparation Term paper
knowledgebase at local, regional and
international levels.
4. Apply healthy cities principles and Class discussion, Group project,
concepts to recommend strategies for readings, and group Term paper
health-specific urban planning and project discussions
policies to minimize and manage
associated health externalities.
5. Undertake a collaborative and Readings and group Group project
cohesive role integrating knowledge project discussions
and expertise between key
stakeholders upholding utmost
professional and ethical standards.

5
Assessment criteria:

The assignments will be assessed in three aspects: structure and presentation

(10%), adequacy, relevance and accuracy of data/material used (30%) and the
quality of analysis (60%).

The criteria for determining the marks are as follows:

Grade Criteria

A Strong analysis; offers significant insights and original thoughts; excellent

argued and presented; good writing style; and well supported with relevant
references and ample illustrative data.

B Solid understanding of the subject matter; uses relevant literature;

incorporates data and examples where necessary; well presented and argued;
also properly referenced.
C
Sufficient understanding of the problem. May have some errors and
omissions, but clear evidences of having consulted relevant literature; and
presented with a clear structure.
D
Shows basic understanding of the subject matter. Consulted the major
pertinent references. Largely descriptive with little analysis; arguments
incomplete or illogical; and weak in integrating arguments.

F Demonstrates a lack of basic understanding of the subject matter or has not

answered the question, or has not understood the topic. Limited use of
relevant literature; poor presentation and references not properly cited.

Academic Conduct

Students are expected to arrive punctually to class, and cell phones will be turned off.
Students are also expected to ask questions when concepts are confusing or unclear. If you
have a question, it is quite possible that other students will also have a similar question, so
please do not hesitate to ask.

The assignments must be properly referenced, i.e. references must be cited in the text to
denote sources of information and arguments, etc, and a full reference list must be given at
the end of the submission. Failure to do so will be regarded as plagiarism and the
assignment will be failed and the candidate may be subject to disciplinary action.
Assignments should be submitted with blank assessment forms. All assignments submitted
should not have been submitted for other courses. Students should run their mid-term essay
through Turnitin to check for plagiarism.

Generative AI (GAI)

1. Students can use GAI, but only those safe ones with HKU access.

2. Students have to provide a clear declaration about their usage of GAI, including which tool
and version, at what stage and for what purposes, whether GAI generated text has been
further edited by authors, etc. in their assignments.
6
VI. Course Schedule

Session Date Topic Lecturer Notes

1. 08/09/2023 Introduction – Holistic models of Healthy Cities Dr Sarkar 2.5 hours

2. 15/09/2023 Activity-friendly Cities and Population Health Dr Sarkar 2.5 hours

3. 22/09/2023 Built environment and infectious diseases Dr Sarkar 2.5 hours

4. 29/09/2023 Salutogenic Cities and Population Health Dr Lai 2.5 hours

5. 06/10/2023 Climate-resilient Cities and Population Health Dr Sarkar 2.5 hours

6. 13/10/2023 Social disparity and Population Health Dr Sarkar 3 hours

Guest lecture: Prof. Roger Yat Nork Chung, CUHK
20/10/2023 READING WEEK (No Class)

7. 27/10/2023 Child-friendly Cities and Adolescent Health Dr Sarkar 3 hours

Guest lecture: Prof. Hannah Badland, RMIT

8. 03/11/2023 Age-friendly Cities Dr Lai 2.5 hours

9. 10/11/2023 Longevity-ready Cities Dr Sarkar 2.5 hours

10. 17/11/2023 Group presentations and discussions 1 Dr Sarkar 2.5 hours

Dr Lai

11. 24/11/2023 Group presentations and discussions 1I (tbc - Dr Lai 2.5 hours
subject to enrollment) Dr Sarkar

7
VII. Assignments

Group Project (40%)

Working groups of 3-5 will be created for students to undertake a group project on a designated topic
related to Healthy Cities allocated by the course coordinator. Each group member should focus on
one or more research questions, seriously engaging in discussions and contributing to
development of hypotheses, study design and empirical analyses to answer critical questions in
the topic, rather than simply presenting some descriptive details. Further details will be provided
in due course. The groups will present their projects in Session 10/11 on November 17, 24 2023 (20-
minute presentation plus 10 minutes for Q&A). They are also required submit a jointly-written report
of approximately 4,000 words (15 double-spaced pages) by November 30, 2023, Thursday (5 PM).
The maximum length excludes references and appendices, and standard editing styles and page
layouts (e.g., Times New Roman, font size 12, and 1-inch margins on all sides) are recommended for
each report. In addition, each group member should submit a completed peer assessment form (hard
copy only) to the DUPAD General Office by November 30, 2023, Thursday (5 PM).

Term Paper (40%)

Each student is required to write a term paper—max 3,000 words in length (roughly 10 double-
spaced pages), excluding references and appendices—on one of the given topics. Standard editing
styles and page layouts (e.g., Times New Roman, font size 12, and 1-inch margins on all sides) are
encouraged, and the paper is due on November 20, 2023, Monday (5 PM).

Themes: The term paper should focus on one of the following themes introduced in the lectures.
More details on the exact topic and quotas for each theme will be provided on September 15, 2023.
Theme 1: Activity-friendly Cities
Theme 2: Climate-friendly design
Theme 3: Salutogenic Cities
Theme 4: Child-friendly cities
Theme 5: Age-friendly Cities

8
VIII. Readings:

Chapter 1 Introduction – Holistic models of Healthy Cities

Rydin, Y., Bleahu, A., Davies, M., Dávila, J. D., Friel, S., De Grandis, G., Groce, N., Hallal, P. C.,
Hamilton, I., Howden-Chapman, P., Lai, K.-M., Lim, C. J., Martins, J., Osrin, D., Ridley, I., Scott, I.,
Taylor, M., Wilkinson, P., & Wilson, J. (2012). Shaping cities for health: complexity and the
planning of urban environments in the 21st century. The Lancet, 379(9831), 2079-2108.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60435-8
Barton, H., Thompson, S., Grant, M., & Burgess, S. (2015). The Routledge Handbook of Planning
for Health and Well-being: Shaping a Sustainable and Healthy Future. Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Group. https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=JL6soAEACAAJ
Sarkar, C., Webster, C., & Gallacher, J. (2014). Healthy Cities: Public Health through Urban
Planning. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781955727

Chapter 2 Activity-friendly Cities and Population Health

Frank, L., Engelke, P., & Schmid, T. (2003). Health and community design: The impact of the built
environment on physical activity. Island Press.
Koohsari, M. J., Mavoa, S., Villanueva, K., Sugiyama, T., Badland, H., Kaczynski, A. T., Owen, N.,
& Giles-Corti, B. (2015). Public open space, physical activity, urban design and public health:
Concepts, methods and research agenda. Health & Place, 33, 75-82.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.02.009
Sarkar, C., Webster, C., Pryor, M., Tang, D., Melbourne, S., Zhang, X., & Jianzheng, L. (2015).
Exploring associations between urban green, street design and walking: Results from the Greater
London boroughs. Landscape and Urban Planning, 143, 112-125.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.06.013

Chapter 3 Salutogenic Cities and Population Health

James, G., Mathew, P. W., Maria, A., Simon, B., Lewis, R. E., Mireia, G., Silvio, G., Laura, M.,
Mark, J. N., Denis, A. S., Matilda van den, B., Tanja, W., Susanne, W., & Lora, E. F. (2017).
BlueHealth: a study programme protocol for mapping and quantifying the potential benefits to public
health and well-being from Europe's blue spaces. BMJ Open, 7(6), e016188.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016188
Lai, K. Y., Kumari, S., Gallacher, J., Webster, C., & Sarkar, C. (2022). Associations of residential
walkability and greenness with arterial stiffness in the UK Biobank. Environment International, 158,
106960. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106960
Santamouris, M. (2014). Cooling the cities – A review of reflective and green roof mitigation
technologies to fight heat island and improve comfort in urban environments. Solar Energy, 103,
682-703. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2012.07.003

Chapter 4 Socially-inclusive Cities and Population Health

Kawachi, I., & Kennedy, B. P. (1997). Socioeconomic determinants of health : Health and social
cohesion: why care about income inequality? BMJ : British Medical Journal, 314(7086), 1037.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.314.7086.1037
Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health inequalities. The Lancet, 365(9464), 1099-1104.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71146-6
Marmot, M., Friel, S., Bell, R., Houweling, T. A., & Taylor, S. (2008). Closing the gap in a
generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. The Lancet, 372(9650),
1661-1669.
Turrell, G., Haynes, M., Wilson, L.-A., & Giles-Corti, B. (2013). Can the built environment reduce
health inequalities? A study of neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and walking for transport.
Health & Place, 19, 89-98. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.10.008
Wong, C.-M., Ou, C.-Q., Chan, K.-P., Chau, Y.-K., Thach, T.-Q., Yang, L., Chung, R. Y.-N.,
Thomas, G. N., Peiris, J. S. M., Wong, T.-W., Hedley, A. J., & Lam, T.-H. (2008). The Effects of Air

9
Pollution on Mortality in Socially Deprived Urban Areas in Hong Kong, China. Environmental
Health Perspectives, 116(9), 1189-1194. https://doi.org/doi:10.1289/ehp.10850

Chapter 5 Built environment and infectious diseases

Alirol, E., Getaz, L., Stoll, B., Chappuis, F., & Loutan, L. (2011). Urbanisation and infectious
diseases in a globalised world. The Lancet infectious diseases, 11(2), 131-141.
Bliss, A., & Kopec, D. (2022). Architectural factors for infection and disease control. Taylor &
Francis.
Megahed, N. A., & Ghoneim, E. M. (2020). Antivirus-built environment: Lessons learned from
Covid-19 pandemic. Sustainable cities and society, 61, 102350.
Chapter 6 Climate-resilient Cities and Population Health
Campbell-Lendrum, D., & Corvalán, C. (2007). Climate Change and Developing-Country Cities:
Implications For Environmental Health and Equity. Journal of Urban Health, 84(1), 109-117.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-007-9170-x
Harlan, S. L., & Ruddell, D. M. (2011). Climate change and health in cities: impacts of heat and air
pollution and potential co-benefits from mitigation and adaptation. Current opinion in environmental
sustainability, 3(3), 126-134.
Prasad, N. (2009). Climate resilient cities a primer on reducing vulnerabilities to disasters. World
Bank.
Ren, C., & McGregor, G. (2021). Urban Climate Science for Planning Healthy Cities. Springer
International Publishing AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87598-5

Chapter 7 Child-friendly Cities and Adolescent Health

Arup. (2017). Cities alive: designing for urban childhoods.
Clark, H., Coll-Seck, A. M., Banerjee, A., Peterson, S., Dalglish, S. L., Ameratunga, S., Balabanova,
D., Bhan, M. K., Bhutta, Z. A., & Borrazzo, J. (2020). A future for the world's children? A WHO–
UNICEF–Lancet Commission. The Lancet, 395(10224), 605-658.
Villanueva, K., Badland, H., Kvalsvig, A., O'Connor, M., Christian, H., Woolcock, G., Giles-Corti,
B., & Goldfeld, S. (2016). Can the Neighborhood Built Environment Make a Difference in Children's
Development? Building the Research Agenda to Create Evidence for Place-Based Children's Policy.
Academic Pediatrics, 16(1), 10-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.09.006

Chapter 8 Age-friendly (Dementia-friendly) Cities

Menec, V. H., Means, R., Keating, N., Parkhurst, G., & Eales, J. (2011). Conceptualizing age-
friendly communities. Canadian Journal on Aging/La revue canadienne du vieillissement, 30(3), 479-
493.
Wang, C., Sierra Huertas, D., Rowe, J. W., Finkelstein, R., Carstensen, L. L., & Jackson, R. B.
(2021). Rethinking the urban physical environment for century-long lives: from age-friendly to
longevity-ready cities. Nature Aging, 1(12), 1088-1095. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00140-5
World Health Organization. (2007). Global age-friendly cities: A guide. World Health Organization.

Chapter 9 Longevity-ready Cities

National Academy of Medicine. (2022). Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity. The National
Academies Press. https://doi.org/doi:10.17226/26144
O’Neill, D., Walshe, E., Romer, D., & Winston, F. (2019). Transportation Equity, Health, and Aging:
A Novel Approach to Healthy Longevity with Benefits Across the Life Span. NAM Perspectives,
2019.

10