Professorship Healthy Region
Themes and topics of the professorship Healthy Region:
The Healthy Region lectureship focuses on the connection between the region's health, living environment and social engagement. The central themes and topics include:
- Health and vitality: Research into preventive healthcare, promoting healthy lifestyles and supporting an ageing population.
- Livability and social cohesion: Encouraging a cohesive and sustainable society where residents are actively involved in their living environment.
- Sustainability and innovative solutions: Developing and implementing sustainable solutions that improve health and the environment.
Focus and ambition:
The electorate aims to make the region healthy, liveable and sustainable. This is achieved by combining knowledge from different disciplines and initiating collaborations with governments, companies and civil society organisations. The focus is on creating concrete, innovative solutions that contribute to a healthy and future-proof region.
Approach to sustainability, sustainable mobility and liveability:
HZ UAS and the Healthy Region professorship embrace sustainability as a core principle. This is reflected in various initiatives, such as:
- Sustainable mobility: Research and projects aimed at developing environmentally friendly transport solutions and encouraging sustainable means of transport.
- Livability: initiatives to improve the living and working environment, focusing on green infrastructures, energy-efficient buildings and social innovation.
- Integrated approach: linking health, mobility and living environment to achieve a holistic approach to regional development.
What is our purpose, and why are we involved in the NSR Mobility Makers project?
The Healthy Region professorship is committed to a sustainable and healthy future, with innovation and cooperation at its core. Previous experience and knowledge gained in the NSR MOVE project by the HZ Knowledge Centre for Coastal Tourism has built the foundation for Mobility Makers.
The Healthy Region professorship collaborates closely with the municipality of Vlissingen. The HZ campus in Vlissingen is located at the Kenniswerf. The Kenniswerf is one of the pilot sites within the Mobility Makers project. HZ UAS and Vlissingen municipality jointly aim to make the Kenniswerf area more sustainable by stimulating sustainable forms of transport and reducing car use, among other things. In addition, HZ wants to raise awareness and increase the positive effects of sustainable transport on health and encourage sustainable mobility among employees, students, and visitors to the HZ UAS.
Suppose car use can be reduced by using more cycling, public transport and/or shared transport. In that case, more space will become available at the Kenniswerf and the HZ Campus, which can then be filled in in other ways, e.g. by more construction of greenery, wide cycle lanes, etc. This will also give the entire Kenniswerf a different appearance.
The HZ campus is a pilot site within the Kenniswerf. Researchers from the professorship Healthy Region are researching employee use and behaviour about mobility on the HZ Campus. Through the NSR MOVE project, it became clear that introducing mobility measures is not always easy. You must also consider the target group's mobility behaviour, habits and attitudes. How can you respond to the target group's needs and better understand and stimulate them to change their (perceptions of their) daily mobility use to use sustainable mobility?
Also, HZ UAS collaborates closely with all knowledge partners within Mobility Makers. The knowledge partners develop a joint monitoring framework and methodology, and a monitoring and evaluating implementation process is developed, including building blocks. In addition, knowledge partners support the pilot partners by sharing knowledge and developing practical sessions. Also, an action plan will be designed to create a governance strategy and knowledge base for external, local, regional and national governments.