URBANOME: a European initiative for healthier urban environments / 10.05.2021

The Horizon 2020 URBANOME project, a European initiative focused on understanding and improving health and wellbeing in urban environments.

The Department of Environmental Sciences (O2) at the Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI) is participating in URBANOME (Urban Observatory for Multi-participatory Enhancement of Health and Wellbeing), a Horizon 2020 research and innovation project addressing the complex relationships between environment, climate, and human health in cities.

URBANOME brings together a consortium of 16 partners across Europe and is implemented in nine cities, including Ljubljana, Athens, Madrid, Milan, Stuttgart, and Thessaloniki. The project aims to develop a comprehensive European framework for evaluating how environmental factors such as air pollution, noise, urban infrastructure, and social conditions influence health and wellbeing, supporting the “Health in All Policies” approach promoted by the World Health Organization.

A central element of the project is the implementation of Urban Living Labs, where research is embedded in real-life urban environments and carried out in close collaboration with citizens, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders. These Living Labs serve as experimentation sites for collecting data, analysing environmental exposures, and co-creating and testing interventions aimed at improving urban health and reducing inequalities.

Within this framework, JSI contributes its expertise in environmental monitoring, personal exposure assessment, and participatory environmental health research. The project builds on previous work in citizen science and real-world monitoring, further strengthening the integration of environmental data, behavioural insights, and stakeholder engagement in urban contexts.

URBANOME represents an important step in advancing participatory approaches to environmental health and in linking scientific research with practical applications, supporting the development of healthier, more sustainable, and more inclusive cities.