Research Division: Environmental Health
Description:
The built, natural, and social environments in settlements have a profound impact on population health. Various features of the living environment, such as exposure to traffic emissions and greenspace, access to services, availability of different land uses, and presence of amenities have been found to shape people’s behaviour and health. Moreover, modifications to the living environment extend beyond the single individual and have the potential to benefit large population groups. Health impact assessment studies are a powerful tool for guiding the transition of cities into healthier, more liveable, and sustainable (e.g., carbon neutral) habitats for humans through better land use changes and better transport planning. Therefore, in order to develop innovative approaches to improve human health in a holistic perspective, the Environment and Health Division will focus on researching the health impact of natural and built outdoor environments (greenspace, air pollution, noise, gray space etc.), healthy urban planning and design, environmental epidemiology and psychology. The research group includes Bulgarian and international researchers with experience in the fields of public health, epidemiology, social sciences, geography and urban planning.
