Malta in the URBACT APN Network: URBACT Healthy Cities

As part of the URBACT Healthy Cities Project, the Planning Authority (PA) recently organised an international online meeting – the Malta Deep Dive, to explore the relationship between urban planning and obesogenic (obesity-causing) environments. The meeting was held over two-days and back-to-back with two plenary sessions, led by the Municipality of Vic (Spain) and including all nine (9) project partners, the PA and Municipalities based in Pärnu (EE), Farkadona (EL), Falerna (IT), Anyksciai (LT), Alphen aan den Rijn (NL), Loulé (PT) and Bradford (UK).

The Malta Deep Dive was organised for Malta, Bradford and Farkadona, all of which have mobility as a common theme. Aimed at obtaining information through discussions and aided by electronic tools used during URBACT’s e-University sessions, this will help the PA draft the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) Roadmap. The latter is the process by which each project partner will arrive at the final project deliverable: a co-authored document aimed at linking urban planning with health, thus creating Healthy Cities. The URBACT Local Group, consisting of representatives from the National URBACT Point, Local Councils Division, Ministry for Health and Senglea Local Council attended these sessions. A number of relevant experts were also roped in: mainly on the specialization of obesity from the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate, for an overview of this challenge in the local context, on obesogenic environments and walkability from the University of Malta and also a Senior Specialist from Bradford on the subject of Health Impact Assessments in urban planning.

More information on: https://www.pa.org.mt/en/news-details/urbact-healthy-cities-malta-deep-dive