URBANOME successfully developed and tested an integrated European framework for assessing and improving urban health and wellbeing. Using a multidisciplinary approach that combined data science, participatory governance, and environmental health research, the project put into practice the “Health in All Policies” concept and demonstrated how urban interventions can effectively reduce environmental exposures and promote healthier, more sustainable lifestyles.
Across several Urban Living Labs, citizens, local authorities, and researchers worked together to design and test and tested interventions addressing key environmental and lifestyle factors of health and wellbeing, including air quality, noise, and lifestyle-related factors. More than 600 citizens participated in harmonised field campaigns using portable and wearable sensors (Figure 1) and completing validated health and wellbeing surveys, generating high-resolution environmental, behavioural, and health datasets. These were integrated into the URBANOME Big Data Engine and Visual Analytics Platform (Figure 2), which provided interoperable tools for exposure analysis and intervention assessment. A dedicated mobile application (URBANOME Fit) was also developed to enhance awareness and behavioural change through personalised feedback, biomonitoring, and gamified interaction (Figure 3).
A complementary qualitative, ethnographic approach enriched the quantitative evidence by capturing citizens’ perceptions, practices, and motivations underpinning behavioural change. Overall, evidence from the ULLs showed measurable improvements in exposure to environmental stressors and in overall health and wellbeing following the interventions. Multi-omics analyses revealed early molecular adaptations linked to reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, identifying candidate biomarkers supporting precision-prevention strategies.
Agent-based modelling (ABM) (Figure 4), health impact assessment, and cost–benefit analyses confirmed that integrated interventions generate tangible health, environmental, and economic shared benefits while reducing social and spatial exposure inequalities. Building on these findings, URBANOME produced practical governance guidelines to integrate health, environmental, and equity objectives into urban policy and planning, promoting collaborative and evidence-based decision-making.
URBANOME’s results were disseminated through more than twenty peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, newsletters, international conferences, and capacity-building activities. Further publications are expected after the project’s completion, ensuring continuity and long-term impact.
The project also actively contributed to the European Urban Health Cluster, co-leading working groups on science-to-policy translation and communication, and promoting synergies with the EU Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) and the EURION cluster on endocrine disruptors.
