Developing healthy cities with urban facility management

Abstract

Purpose Most people live in cities and work in offices, two contexts offering many lifestyle-related and environmental health risks. To advance their health, this paper aims to introduce an analogy between urban design and facility design to explore whether health-directed design interventions in cities and facilities are related and to look for applicable cross-overs and opportunities to develop the facility management (FM) profession on the urban level. Design/methodology/approach The principles of abductive reasoning as a first phase of scientific investigation were followed, by introducing a new idea and attentively observing phenomena in the communities of FM and urban design. The method was desk research, in the context of discovery. Findings Many possible cross-overs exist which offer opportunities for urban planners and facility managers to reinforce each other and interesting market opportunities for the further development of urban FM. However, more systematic research is needed on efficacious and effective interventions. Furthermore, experiences and capacities of the FM sector should be unlocked and applied within a city context, as the knowledge and experiences of facility managers and urban planners can create synergy. Practical implications The findings are directly applicable to facility and urban design practices and to FM education by involving students in city design practices. Originality/value Cross-overs between facilities and cities are new and can inspire both facility managers and urban planners to work together more closely for the benefit of citizens and employees.