Psychosocial Risk Management and KCB in Business: Sustainable Cities and Communities
We are becoming an urban population. The United Nations estimates that by 2050 at least two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities. This density of people means that the urban public health problem has gone far beyond its traditional practitioners and has become the task of city builders and regulators from all disciplines. Policymakers, architects, designers, urban planners, public health officials, engineers, geographers, and others increasingly need to think about how our cities can be designed to meet population needs in ways that promote better public health.
Many cities that have been centers of the COVID-19 crisis have suffered from inadequacies in public health systems, inadequate basic services, a lack of well-developed and integrated public transport systems, and inadequate open public spaces, as well as the business economic consequences of quarantines. More people were affected during the quarantine period in areas without qualified settlement plans, such as slum settlements.
As most future urban growth will take place in developing cities, urban expansion needs to be planned to turn cities into centers of health and well-being, with durable housing in accessible neighborhoods, efficient energy and transport networks, and robust water. WHO's new Urban Health Initiative has considered an important element for health systems by focusing on the urban environment as a prerequisite for healthy lifestyles and disease prevention. These urban regulation initiatives, which are accepted as prerequisites for a healthy society structure, also include actions and structural changes to be taken to protect the well-being and welfare of working communities in the city and its surrounding workplaces, mass offices and industrial areas.
Psychosocial risks, which are important health and safety determinants in working life, include sub-factors related to environmental regulations and equipment availability. Adequate ventilation, fresh air, good air conditioning, availability of space; constitutes an example of psychosocial risk factors that may affect employee health. In addition, noisy residential areas and work areas also affect employee health and well-being. The fact that the working population constitutes a large percentage of the society makes environmental regulations related to work a part of public health. Evaluation of psychosocial risk factors in workplaces can offer micro- and macro-scale solutions to public and private sector organizations in order to determine the elements to be considered for city and environmental planning.
If you want more resources on creating a psychologically healthy and safe workplace, To our bulletin where Psychosocial risks are explained in occupational health and safety systems look at.
References
Sustainable Cities Health at the heart of urban development. (n.d.). Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/documents/publications/sustainable-cities.pdf?sfvrsn=2accfb68_1
United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 11 | Department of Economics and Social Affairs. United Nations. Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11
Urban Design and mental health – researchgate. (n.d.). Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tarik-Endale-2/publication/315864757_Urban_Design_and_Mental_Health/links/5ca22762299bf11169555ce3/Urban-Design-and-Mental-Health.pdf_detail=publication=origin
