Prof. Christian Werthmann and Dr. Christian Corral Burau presented their ongoing research at the Earth Observation Research Cluster (EORC) at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg on 10 March 2026. Their project, which explores how the health of humans, plants, and animals in urban environments can be spatially assessed, is part of the Smart Transformation and Innovation Consortium Slovakia (STICS). It is funded by the European Union until 2027. The researchers aim to develop a “One Health City Framework” along with a corresponding index that enables cities to be evaluated as socio-ecological systems. The presentation, titled “Pathways towards a Healthy City,” also served to explore opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and to initiate further exchange with the EORC.
Cities today face a growing combination of pressures. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing social inequality are transforming urban environments and challenging traditional planning approaches. As the speakers emphasized, many current planning strategies struggle to address these interconnected challenges in dense and rapidly evolving urban systems.
Cities as interconnected systems
To rethink how cities can respond to these pressures, Christian Werthmann and Corral Burau introduced the One Health City Framework, an interdisciplinary approach that brings together perspectives from ecology, urban planning, landscape architecture, GIS, anthropology, and public health. The framework conceptualizes the city as an interconnected system in which human and non-human actors, the natural and built environments, interact closely. Urban health, in this view, emerges from the relationships between these components rather than from individual elements considered in isolation.
To translate this conceptual framework into a practical analytical tool, the researchers developed the One Health City Index, which enables the spatial assessment of urban health conditions. The index evaluates urban environments using indicators of proximity, environmental exposure, and biodiversity, enabling analysis at different spatial scales, from the citywide level to individual neighborhoods or urban spaces. In doing so, it helps identify spatial deficiencies, highlight planning priorities, and support strategies to create more resilient and sustainable urban environments.
The central role of spatial data
For researchers working in Earth observation and geospatial sciences, the approach highlights the important role of spatial data and analysis in understanding and improving urban health. By linking landscape architecture with spatial analysis and environmental monitoring, the One Health City concept provides a promising framework for integrating design, data, and sustainability in future urban planning.
The talk provided an inspiring perspective on how interdisciplinary collaboration can help rethink cities as complex socio-ecological systems. It also illustrated how Earth observation and spatial analysis can support the development of healthier and more resilient urban environments in the face of ongoing global change. Moreover, it sparked an engaged discussion among participants, with many questions and reflections from the audience.
