Conversion of industrial contaminated sites into residential areas –safeguarding health and wellbeing

Abstract Across Europe, urban settlements are changing and expanding. Due to lack of land resources, urban development often relies on the re-use and conversion of former industrial areas - land which has had special functions before but now is being used for urban, public, recreational and residential functions. This challenge is often referred to as land recycling or brownfield conversion, and is associated with urban processes labelled e.g. urban sprawl, renewal, revitalization, regeneration or redevelopment. Urban revitalization and the use of former non-residential land for urban functions raise potential challenges related to health, wellbeing and equity. The use of former industrial areas can be associated with contamination which, if not fully remediated, can pose health risks to new residents. With increasing urbanization in many countries there is a need for cities to provide new residential areas. The WHO Regional Office for Europe is developing a compilation of health impacts of such urban land-take processes - including a review of lessons learned and a collection of practical experiences - that can provide better understanding of the scope of the problem, related health challenges and guidance for action for countries and cities where such conversion projects take place. The work will contribute to achieving SDG 11 by discussion practical processes for multi-stakeholder engagement in all stages of urban development that build consensus, inclusion, resilience and sustainability when converting former industrial areas into residential areas. The presentation will focus on environmental, social and health implications and experiences of urban and residential use of land resources with formerly different functions. The presentation will include lessons learned regarding the assessment of risk associated with land contamination etc.