Building Health

with design

Architecture & Urban Planning Tools for Health

we create tools to build healthy neighborhoods

Welcome to Building Health Lab

We are Think & Do Tank driving sustainable urban development through innovative health strategies.

Our team, comprised of experts from diverse fields, collaborates closely with universities and local governments to address the complex challenges posed by health and climate crises at the municipal level, informing the development of city plans.

Our Approach

Collaborative Expertise: At BHL, we harness the power of collaboration by leveraging collective knowledge from academia and practice. This approach ensures our solutions are:

  • Healthy: Prioritizing people’s needs and requirements.
  • Green: Incorporating nature-based solutions to support people-centered needs.
  • Bankable: Ensuring cost-effective operations and reinvestment for sustainable outcomes.
Urban Diagnostics neighborhood data
UrbanCare APPS  multimedia applications
UrbanCare Dialogues stakeholder sessions

Our Tools: We empower neighborhood communities with powerful tools, including guiding frameworks, problem-solving activities, and innovative planning software.

  • Urban Diagnostics: We perform desk and field research essential for pedestrian planning, emphasizing the advantages for slower-paced groups and enhancing climate resilience.
  • UrbanCare APPS:
    • We assist citizens in identifying problems and aligning goals.
    • Our data-driven processes streamline and communicate the work of researchers to the community enhancing collaboration and insights.
    • Using problem-solving methodologies, we ensure urban planners and designers create solutions rooted in rigorous research and industry best practices.
  • UrbanCare Dialogues: Our dialogues engage all stakeholders, fostering inclusivity and consensus-building for effective urban development.

Streets for health

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In most cities, sustainable urban plans to battle the urban heat island effects aim at reducing car usage and emissions.

Our approach at BHL is to create streetscapes for pedestrian safety, comfort, and health that improve neighborhood liveability and the local climate.

We provide communities and planners with steps and tools to investigate street-level obstacles and climate threats that affect vulnerable outdoor users such as children, older adults, workers, and people with cognitive or physical disabilities.

Energy-saving public spaces

Urban outdoors, especially streets, impact the energy consumption in nearby buildings and pedestrian health.

Our tools assist in developing evidence-based solutions that improve urban ecosystems, energy waste, and public health at the neighborhood level. 

Each case helps inform city plans with neighborhood know-how and evidence.