A multidisciplinary team made up of researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), as well as the Ramon Llull University (URL) and the team of Healthy Cities (Invastify), presented the +ACTIU project on Wednesday 20 March. This is an initiative that takes into account the impact of the urban environment on lifestyle and well-being, and aims to design more active and healthy spaces that encourage physical activity to try to reduce sedentary lifestyles. The event, divided into two blocks, brought together more than 50 people and was held from 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Tecla Sala Cultural Centre Auditorium.
The event began with the presentation of Dr. Paula Jakszyn, leader of +ACTIU and principal investigator of the Nutrition and Cancer group of IDIBELL, who introduced the objectives of the project and the participatory methodology proposed to achieve them, in which citizenship is a key member. In essence, she explained that +ACTIU proposes a work plan in three phases, which will begin with an analysis of the urban environment of Avenida Catalunya in Hospitalet de Llobregat, will continue with the co-creation of a Community of Practice to recommend solutions to the problems identified in the analysis, and will end with the implementation and evaluation of the pilot programs that have been suggested. In addition, the dissemination and generation of resources based on the meetings and strategies developed will be carried out.
After Dr. Jakszyn’s speech, a round table discussion has been organised, which focused on the city as an active environment for the improvement of community health. Experts from various fields have participated, enriching the discussion with different points of view and demonstrating the collaboration between disciplines that the project calls for.
In the second block, aimed more specifically at the citizen community of Hospitalet, Dr. Jordi Vilaró, co-investigator of +ACTIU and professor at the Blanquerna Faculty of Health Sciences, has explained in more depth what the project’s Community of Practice consists of, which will be co-led by Marta Rofin, architect and urban planner at Healthy Cities (Invastify). As Dr. Vilaró points out, it will be a community made up of health professionals, urban planners, neighbourhood associations and local entities, and people with chronic pathologies, among others, which will take into account different perspectives and build a shared vision to facilitate the creation of healthy spaces. In short, it will contribute to generating ideas to make L’Hospitalet a model of an active city.
Finally, the event has closed with a two-way dialogue between the attendees and the +ACTIU team, which gathered the concerns of the citizens, the cornerstone of the initiative. It has been used to thank the funding of the project by the Barcelona City Council and La Caixa Foundation, as part of the Barcelona Science 2020-2023 plan, and the support to the participating entities, such as IDIBELL, ICO, URL and Invastify, as well as the collaboration of the City Council of Hospitalet de Llobregat.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).