Urban spaces need to be rethought to address growing health and environmental challenges. Urban density and transport systems contribute significantly to air pollution, negatively impacting public health. Barcelona has begun a transformation by introducing the Superblock model, an urban development with proven health benefits. However, there is a lack of understanding of the health impacts of various planned urban and transport interventions. This study aims to explore planned urban and transport developments in Barcelona (e.g. Superblocks, Low emission zone, tactical urban planning, port electrification) and estimates the health impacts of their related exposures.

Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) for air pollutant mixtures are challenging because risk estimates are primarily derived from single-pollutant models. Combining risk estimates from multiple pollutants requires new approaches, as a simple addition of single pollutant risk estimates from correlated air pollutants may result in double counting. This article investigated approaches applying concentration-response functions (CRFs) from single- and two-pollutant models in HIAs, focusing on long-term exposure to particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and their associations with all-cause mortality.

Air pollution is the most significant environmental threat to health in the European Union. It has a severe negative impact on the health of people of all ages and is responsible for more than 300,000 premature deaths annually in the region.

On 14 October, the Council of the European Union formally adopted a directive setting updated air quality standards across the EU. The revised legislation adjusts the limits for key air pollutants to align more closely with the latest recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and to reflect the serious health consequences of air pollution.

In its efforts to advocate for improved air quality, UBDPolicy contributed to the development of a policy brief titled “The Economic Fallacy of Improving Air Quality in Europe: the Social and Economic Costs of Inaction Are Far Greater than Taking Ambitious Action“. The document argues that improving air quality should be prioritized not only for health reasons but also for economic ones. The economic impact of air pollution is substantial, with costs arising from reduced life expectancy, illness, lost productivity, and damage to ecosystems, amounting to more than 5% of GDP in many countries.

Growing evidence indicates an association between ambient air pollution and decreased human reproductive potential. This study aims to systematically review the association between air pollutants and female ovarian reserve.

Slides explaining the METEOR cluster project UBDPolicy.

This paper reviews key aspects of the Superblock model, its implementation and initial evaluations in Barcelona and the potential international uptake of the model in Europe and globally, focusing on environmental, climate, lifestyle, liveability and health aspects.

Ambient air pollution is a major risk to health and wellbeing in European cities. We aimed to estimate spatial and sector-specific contributions of emissions to ambient air pollution and evaluate the effects of source-specific reductions in pollutants on mortality in European cities to support targeted source-specific actions to address air pollution and promote population health.