BlueHealth · Project

Decision Support Tool Helps Cities Use Waterways to Improve Public Health

healthPrototypeTRL 4Thin data (2/5)

bluehealth2020.eu

Most European cities were built near rivers, lakes, or coasts — but nobody really measured whether those water features make people healthier or sicker. BlueHealth looked at urban waterways across 8 countries to figure out when blue spaces help (like cooling cities in summer or giving people places to exercise) and when they hurt (like flooding or pollution). They built a web-based tool that helps city planners weigh these trade-offs before making decisions. Think of it as a calculator that tells you: "If you open up this canal for recreation, here's the health upside and here's the pollution risk."

By the numbers

EU countries covered by the research network

consortium partners

countries represented in consortium

total project deliverables

year project duration

The business problem

What needed solving

Cities everywhere struggle to make smart decisions about their waterways — should they open a canal for recreation, build housing near a river, or invest in waterfront restoration? Without hard data on health trade-offs (cooling and exercise benefits vs. flooding and pollution risks), planners either guess or over-rely on single-issue studies. This leads to missed health benefits or unexpected risks that cost money and reputation.

The solution

What was built

The main commercial-relevant output is a prototype web-based Decision Support Tool that lets urban planners input scenarios about blue infrastructure and get health impact assessments. The tool was populated with real case study data from multiple countries and validated with testing groups. The project also produced 12 deliverables covering health-environment research across 28 EU countries.

Audience

Who needs this

Waterfront real estate developers needing health impact dataEnvironmental consulting firms doing urban health assessmentsMunicipal planning departments managing urban waterwaysWater utilities justifying infrastructure investmentPublic health agencies evaluating environmental interventions

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Urban Planning & Real Estate Development

mid-size

Target: Real estate developers building near waterfront areas

If you are a waterfront real estate developer dealing with uncertainty about how blue spaces affect property value and resident well-being — this project developed a web-based Decision Support Tool that weighs health benefits against risks like flooding and pollution. The tool was tested with real case studies across 8 countries and can help you make evidence-based decisions about waterfront development projects.

Environmental Consulting

SME

Target: Environmental and health impact assessment firms

If you are an environmental consultancy conducting health impact assessments for urban water infrastructure — this project produced research across 28 EU countries linking blue infrastructure to health outcomes. The prototype Decision Support Tool can be adapted into your assessment workflows, giving clients data-backed recommendations on waterway interventions.

Municipal Water & Infrastructure Services

enterprise

Target: Water utilities and urban infrastructure operators

If you are a water utility or infrastructure operator managing urban waterways and trying to justify investment in blue space improvements — BlueHealth's research across 9 partner institutions quantified health benefits and risks of urban water environments. Their Decision Support Tool can help you build the business case for waterway upgrades by showing measurable public health returns.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or use the Decision Support Tool?

Based on available project data, the prototype Decision Support Tool was developed as a research output and no commercial pricing is published. As a publicly funded RIA project, the tool may be available for adaptation, but licensing terms would need to be negotiated with the University of Exeter as coordinator.

Can this tool work at industrial scale for a large city?

The prototype was populated with example values and weights from case studies across 8 countries and tested with relevant groups. Scaling to full city-level deployment would likely require customization and additional data integration, as the current version is a research prototype.

Who owns the intellectual property?

IP from this RIA project is typically owned by the consortium partners who generated it, led by the University of Exeter. Commercial use would require a licensing agreement with the relevant partners. The consortium includes 4 universities and 5 research organizations across 8 countries.

Does this meet any regulatory requirements?

BlueHealth addressed health and environmental trade-offs relevant to EU water and urban planning regulations. The Decision Support Tool could help demonstrate compliance with health impact assessment requirements, though it was designed as a planning aid rather than a regulatory compliance product.

How long would it take to implement this in our organization?

The prototype web-based tool exists and was tested with case study data. Integration into an existing planning workflow would depend on your data infrastructure and customization needs. The project ran for 5 years and produced 12 deliverables, so there is substantial documentation to support adoption.

Can it integrate with our existing systems?

The Decision Support Tool is web-based, which makes integration with existing digital planning platforms technically feasible. Based on available project data, the tool uses data science approaches and could accept various data inputs, but specific API or integration documentation would need to be confirmed with the development team.

Consortium

Who built it

The BlueHealth consortium of 9 partners across 8 countries is entirely academic — 4 universities and 5 research organizations with zero industry involvement and zero SMEs. This means the research is likely rigorous but has not been stress-tested in a commercial environment. The coordinator, University of Exeter, is a well-established UK institution. For a business looking to adopt this technology, expect to invest in translating research outputs into commercial-grade products, as no private-sector partner has been involved in development or validation.

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETERCoordinator · UK
LUNDS UNIVERSITETparticipant · SE
ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKISparticipant · EL
ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITAparticipant · IT
FUNDACION PRIVADA INSTITUTO DE SALUD GLOBAL BARCELONAparticipant · ES
RIJKSINSTITUUT VOOR VOLKSGEZONDHEID EN MILIEUparticipant · NL
EESTI MAAULIKOOLparticipant · EE
FONDAZIONE CENTRO EURO-MEDITERRANEOSUI CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICIparticipant · IT
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATIONparticipant · CH

How to reach the team

Contact the University of Exeter team through their project website or institutional channels

Order a report on this consortium See THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing the Decision Support Tool or commissioning a custom adaptation? SciTransfer can connect you with the BlueHealth research team and help negotiate terms.

Order a report on this topic More in Health & Biomedical