Extent and Context of Human Health Considerations in London’s Spatial Development and Climate Action Strategy

Abstract

The protection of human health is among the original justifications for urban planning, but it is underexamined as one of the myriad benefits of planning for climate change. A conceptual content analysis of the spatial development strategy and climate action plans of London, United Kingdom, was performed to reveal how health was portrayed in climate change adaptation goals and actions. In London’s spatial development and climate action plans, there was a total of 300 instances of the keyword ‘health’ with weighted percentages of coverage in the documents ranging from 0.19% to 0.45%. The conclusions from this analysis are that stated threats to health are truly localized, policies that address health acknowledge both adaptation and mitigation, and health inequalities and creating an environment supportive of health are the most salient cross-cutting issues.