SINGAPORE, Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — December sees the launch of Health-Driven Design for Cities (HD₄), a groundbreaking Singapore-based research collaboration seeking to discover how best to design urban environments that enhance the health of their residents.

HD₄ is a partnership between Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the University of Cambridge. It has received funding from the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and is hosted and co-led by the Cambridge Centre for Advanced Research and Education in Singapore (CARES).

Health challenges of urbanisation

Cities around the world face increasing challenges in managing issues such as heat islands, noise and air pollution, stress, and limited access to healthy food and physical activity. These environmental factors contribute to a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, obesity, cancer and cardiac disease. With urban populations growing rapidly around the world, there is an urgent need to rethink how cities are designed to promote health and well-being.

Prof Nick Wareham, HD₄ Programme Lead at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge said:

“As a city with ambitious plans for improving its citizens’ health, and a burgeoning research sector and rich health data, Singapore offers a unique setting for this work. HD₄ will not only be studying the challenges of a growing city in the twenty-first century, but doing so in a city eager to implement strategies and tools to address them.”

International, interdisciplinary team

The HD₄ programme brings together a world-class team of epidemiologists, clinicians, scientists, engine...