• Energy Research

Measuring and monitoring progress towards achieving healthy, equitable and sustainable cities is a priority for planners, policymakers and researchers in diverse contexts globally. Yet data collection, analysis, visualisation and reporting on policy and spatial indicators involve specialised knowledge, skills, and collaboration across disciplines. Integrated open-source tools for calculating and communicating urban indicators for diverse urban contexts are needed, which provide the multiple streams of evidence required to influence policy agendas and enable local changes towards healthier and more sustainable cities. This paper reports on the development of open-source software for planning, analysis and generation of data, maps and reports on policy and spatial indicators of urban design and transport features for healthy and sustainable cities. We engaged a collaborative network of researchers and practitioners from diverse geographic contexts through an online survey and workshops, to understand and progressively meet their requirements for policy and spatial indicators. We outline our framework for action research-informed open-source software development and discuss benefits and challenges of this approach. The resulting Global Healthy and Sustainable City Indicators software is designed to meet the needs of researchers, planners, policy makers and community advocates in diverse settings for planning, calculating and disseminating policy and spatial urban indicators.

Measuring and monitoring progress towards achieving healthy, equitable and sustainable cities is a priority for planners, policymakers and researchers in diverse contexts globally. Yet data collection, analysis, visualisation and reporting on policy and spatial indicators involve specialised knowledge, skills, and collaboration across disciplines. Integrated open-source tools for calculating and communicating urban indicators for diverse urban contexts are needed, which provide the multiple streams of evidence required to influence policy agendas and enable local changes towards healthier and more sustainable cities. This paper reports on the development of open-source software for planning, analysis and generation of data, maps and reports on policy and spatial indicators of urban design and transport features for healthy and sustainable cities. We engaged a collaborative network of researchers and practitioners from diverse geographic contexts through an online survey and workshops, to understand and progressively meet their requirements for policy and spatial indicators. We outline our framework for action research-informed open-source software development and discuss benefits and challenges of this approach. The resulting Global Healthy and Sustainable City Indicators software is designed to meet the needs of researchers, planners, policy makers and community advocates in diverse settings for planning, calculating and disseminating policy and spatial urban indicators.

Abstract: The objective of this study was to describe the impact of the May 2024 floods on the community food environment of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brasil. This is an ecological study in the 92 municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul State that had at least one establishment that sells food affected by the floods. The geographic data on the flooding were extracted from the database of the Institute of Hydraulic Research of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and the information on food establishments was obtained from the database of the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil (year 2022). Proportions of groups/categories of affected establishments were calculated and compared using Pearson’s chi-square test. Of the total number of establishments in the municipalities, 15.7% were located in the flooded area. In addition, 11 cities had more than 40% of their businesses flooded. Regarding the proportion of affected establishments in relation to the total number of establishments in each group/category of establishments, the group of establishments that sell in natura or minimally processed foods (17.1%) was the most affected (p < 0.0001); and fishmongers (28.5%) and restaurants (17.6%) were the most affected categories of in natura or minimally processed and mixed groups, respectively (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, a major impact of the floods on the food trade in Rio Grande do Sul State was observed, especially in establishments that sell in natura or minimally processed foods, denoting the importance of monitoring the reestablishment of the community food environment over time to ensure food security for the population.

Abstract: The objective of this study was to describe the impact of the May 2024 floods on the community food environment of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brasil. This is an ecological study in the 92 municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul State that had at least one establishment that sells food affected by the floods. The geographic data on the flooding were extracted from the database of the Institute of Hydraulic Research of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and the information on food establishments was obtained from the database of the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil (year 2022). Proportions of groups/categories of affected establishments were calculated and compared using Pearson’s chi-square test. Of the total number of establishments in the municipalities, 15.7% were located in the flooded area. In addition, 11 cities had more than 40% of their businesses flooded. Regarding the proportion of affected establishments in relation to the total number of establishments in each group/category of establishments, the group of establishments that sell in natura or minimally processed foods (17.1%) was the most affected (p < 0.0001); and fishmongers (28.5%) and restaurants (17.6%) were the most affected categories of in natura or minimally processed and mixed groups, respectively (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, a major impact of the floods on the food trade in Rio Grande do Sul State was observed, especially in establishments that sell in natura or minimally processed foods, denoting the importance of monitoring the reestablishment of the community food environment over time to ensure food security for the population.