Health and Well-being Aspects of Urban Blue Space: The New Urban Landscape Research Field

A major element of a regional landscape system is that of the hydrological system — rivers, lakes, the sea as well as artificial canals. The majority of cities globally are located on waterbodies. Water poses many risks for human health and well-being but also many — often as yet unrealised — benefits. As cities expand and as they become more densely populated the potential of creating or improving access to water through good city planning could be a valuable planning tool for increasing human health and well-being. Blue spaces are often released as industries and port facilities move away and better water management reduced urban water pollution. Flood risks may be exacerbated by urban expansion on flood plains so that good water management at the level of the catchment is important. As evidence on the benefits of green and blue spaces for health and well-being increases this should be used by planners and designers to create better spaces. While many projects exist which have converted waterfront spaces for recreational use there has been little systematic reviewing of the success factors in such projects in relation to health and well-being. The BlueHealth Research Project focuses on ways to improve health and well-being through, among other things, better evidence on how to plan and design. This paper introduces blue space as a new urban landscape research field and presents some initial findings of a wide-ranging review of blue regeneration projects from around the world. A number of key aspects which make them successful have been identified and these are summarised here.