3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Warmer temperatures, sea-level rise and more frequent and unpredictable severe storms brought by climate change pose major challenges for public health policy makers and practitioners. The policy challenge is to develop and implement strategies and programs to protect populations from a growing number of adverse health outcomes, including heat stress and heat stroke, injuries, and vector-borne disease. Students who are future public health policy and practice leaders will gain policy and practice tools that will help public health departments in the effort to adapt to climate change. The City of Barcelona Climate Adaptation Team will make a special presentation. Provides an overview of the science behind climate change and highlights the particular risks of global mega-cities due to their concentrated populations, urban heat-island effect, frequent proximity to coasts and rivers, and locus of transport and trade. Uses the WHO and US CDC Guides to Vulnerability for Public Health and the UN Habitat Guide to Vulnerability Assessment for Cities to identify populations at greatest risk from climate impacts. Critically evaluates through case studies actual climate and health adaptive policies as they are implemented in real-life contexts in several large, innovative world cities including San Francisco, London, Rio de Janeiro, Durban, and Copenhagen.