U-Care Guide. A handbook for Replicating the U-Care Approach to Urban Health Education

This guide presents the educational framework, implementation experience and lessons learned from integrating the UrbanCare methodology into higher education through the U-CARE project. It is intended for educators, course coordinators and higher education institutions seeking to introduce or strengthen teaching on urban health, climate resilience, spatial equity and evidence-informed urban planning and design. The guide addresses the need for more integrated approaches to urban health education. Challenges such as limited walkability and spatial equity, urban heat, stormwater runoff and biotope loss are closely connected to the design, planning and management of urban environments, yet they are often addressed separately within higher education curricula. The U-CARE approach provides a framework for connecting these challenges with research, spatial analysis, digital tools, field-based learning and participatory decision-making. At the centre of the guide is the translation of the UrbanCare methodology into a flexible educational framework structured around three interconnected stages: urban health research, neighbourhood diagnostics and decision-making workshops. Students first develop an evidence base and a shared understanding of urban health challenges; they then investigate these challenges through spatial analysis, digital tools and direct engagement with neighbourhood conditions; and finally use their findings to identify priorities, develop and compare possible interventions and communicate evidence-informed responses. The four U-CARE themes – walkability, urban heat, stormwater runoff and biotope loss – provide a common thematic framework through which this learning process can be applied.