Is Your City Know-how Reaching the Right Audience?

At the International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH) 2024 in Marrakesh, we celebrated the City Know-how (CK-H) platform workshop, an initiative aimed at making urban health knowledge practical and accessible. CK-H, a key project of the Cities & Health journal, transforms peer-reviewed research into actionable tools for urban decision-makers.

This workshop introduced innovative formats for sharing knowledge, inspiring a diverse audience to collaborate and make urban health and climate know-how widely available.

The workshop comprised three engaging sessions.

Session 1: Introduction

Marcus Grant set the stage by highlighting the CK-H platform’s mission to bridge the gap between research and real-world application. He emphasized how CK-H’s curated posts, including one-page summaries, support better urban planning, design, and policy, empowering cities to improve health and climate outcomes.

Session 2: Platform Navigation and Contribution Types

Alvaro Valera Sosa led a detailed walkthrough of CK-H’s features using the interactive map, highlighting the importance of introducing three new contribution formats to the platform:

A: Case Studies

Comprehensive accounts of global urban health interventions, designed to inform and inspire practical solutions.

• Context and Challenges: Framing the issue, including demographics and environmental or policy factors.
• Intervention Details: Steps from planning to implementation, showcasing innovative, community-focused solutions.
• Outcomes and Insights: Measurable impacts, backed by data and testimonials.
• Replication Potential: Lessons learned for adoption elsewhere.

Case Studies Questions:

• Would this format provide the type of practical content you need to disseminate or use as a resource?
• Does it align with the information or storytelling needs of your institution, journal, or program?

Email us with your thoughts or any further questions!

B: Visual Essays

A blend of storytelling and data visualization to effectively communicate urban health challenges.

• Tell a Story: Using personal accounts or historical context to illustrate challenges.
• Leverage Data: Featuring maps, infographics, and charts for clarity.
• Engage Audiences: Making technical content accessible to non-specialist audiences.

Visual Essays Questions:

• Would this visual narrative format meet your publication standards or resonate with your target readers?
• Is this the kind of content format you need to attract attention, simplify technical information, or inspire action among your stakeholders?

Email us!

C: City Shorts

Concise, impactful posts for rapid consumption, perfect for quick dissemination of actionable insights.

• Actionable: Offering clear takeaways like policy recommendations or summaries.
• Flexible: Designed for platforms like social media or newsletters.
• Accessible: Using plain language for broad reach.

City Shorts Questions:

• Would short, focused posts with clear recommendations or data summaries meet your communication needs for quick dissemination?
• Is this style aligned with how you publish content for social media, newsletters, or similar rapid-access platforms?

Email us!

Session 3: Interactive Feedback Session

Co-led by Greg Rybarczyk , Sarah Ruel-Bergeron, RA , and Alvaro Valera Sosa, this session invited participants to navigate the platform and explore the new contribution types. Their feedback provided valuable insights for refining CK-H.

Participant Contributions and Commitments

We extend heartfelt thanks to the participants for their active engagement and valuable insights in this session:

• Juliet Carpenter (Oxford University): Advocated for citizen co-creation and tools like "storymap" for mapping and user experiences.
• Hanaa H. (Systems Transformation Scientist): Highlighted the benefits of multipurpose projects, such as greening vacant lots, and emphasized using photovoices and GIS data to document transformations.
• Nina Abrahams (University of Cambridge): Stressed the importance of visually engaging, accessible formats and raised questions about audience discoverability.
• Sara Ahern (Better Start Bradford): Suggested expanding multimedia formats and presenting outputs at conferences and professional bodies.
• Richard Middleton (City of Bradford): Advocated for social media-friendly formats and the integration of visual data into Case Studies and Visual Essays.

Several participants committed to supporting CK-H’s future development:

• waleska caiaffa (Universidade Federal De Minas Gerais): Committed to creating a presubmission phase to streamline editorial processes.
• Jason Corburn (University of California, Berkeley): Offered to refine the Case Studies format for academic use.
• Carolyn Daher (ISGlobal): Emphasized the value of Visual Essays and pledged support for their development.
• Nathalie Roebbel (WHO): Committed to discussions on making large databases more visible. WHO Regional Office for Europe is evaluating the City Shorts format as a potential dissemination tool.

Key Takeaways and Future Directions

The ICUH 2024 workshop showcased the transformative potential of the City Know-how (CK-H) platform to foster citizen engagement and reach broader audiences through multimedia storytelling. Feedback emphasized the importance of tailoring content for both professional stakeholders and community contexts.

Formats such as Case Studies, Visual Essays, and City Shorts emerged as essential tools to meet diverse dissemination needs. These formats will guide CK-H’s evolution, ensuring it remains a global resource for advancing urban health and climate resilience. Insights from the workshop will drive ongoing refinements, and collaborations with stakeholders will expand CK-H’s impact.

Collaborating for Impact

We extend our gratitude to the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) for hosting ICUH 2024 and providing an exceptional platform for urban health innovation. Special thanks to Routledge Taylor & Francis Group , whose support has been vital in shaping CK-H and bridging the gap between research and practice.

CK-H aims to thrive through partnerships with global leaders such as the World Health Organization , UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) , and top academic institutions. Organizations like C40 Cities and ICLEI can leverage CK-H’s formats to share timely updates, whileThink tanks like the The Brookings Institution and the Urban Land Institute might utilize CK-H to disseminate in-depth research and best practices, further advancing urban health outcomes.