Host and author Olivier Niquet, who opened the page on Sunday night on 10 years of radio with The night was (still) young, aired on Monday night a new series on the airwaves of Savoir media. Sa My city in the beam Xthe trained urbanologist breaks down the sometimes unexpected links between health and urban planning.
Before falling into the world of radio with The sportnographerthen The night was (still) young, Olivier Niquet earned a master’s degree in urban studies at the University of Quebec in Montreal, without actually working in the field thereafter. For his first contract in television animation, he will therefore focus on a topic he is well versed in.
For once I feel like I’m talking about something I know, not being a cheathe says.
According to some studies, the impact of the environment in which we live is almost as important to our health as heredity and lifestyle. Sa My city on the x-raythe facilitator will address this issue in very specific cases.
City planning and health : a relationship unknown to the public
Each week, Olivier will meet with a citizen struggling with a health concern to highlight the impact of his neighborhood’s development on his well-being. In the second episode, for example, he meets Jean-Michel, a Repentigny resident who had a heart attack quite young, in his forties.
” Perhaps one day people may prescribe to move or take advantage of certain corners of their neighborhood that can have a positive impact on their health. “
Working in the city center and living in a neighborhood where there are no local shops, Jean-Michel has become a small slave to his car, a mode of transportation that can have small physical health consequences. .
With him, we met doctors to check his health, but also city planners to check his neighborhood, to see the links between the twohe explains. Often, we think that when we are in the car, we are somewhat protected from pollution, but on the contrary, it is like a microclimate where pollution is more effective against us.
Beyond cardiovascular diseases, the series will also look at the effects of urban planning on anxiety, people with poor mobility, attention deficit disorder (with or without hyperactivity), childhood obesity and asthma.
Be interested in municipal politics, despite the potholes
In addition to enlightening people on a reality that is rarely conveyed in the media, Olivier Niquet also hopes to interest them in an often unloved part of public affairs: municipal politics.
We don’t seem to be interested in municipal politics, if that’s what has the greatest impact on our daily lives. Often this leads to potholes, waste collection or large projects such as the third link or the REMhe explains.
But in reality, this is our living environment, this is the most important. I think, an individual effort we should make is to be more interested in municipal politics and select the people we elect to these positions.
The 6 stages of 30 minutes of My city on the x-ray Airing on Savoir media from Monday, May 9 at 9:30 pm The series, produced by Urbania, will also be available on the Savoir media online platform.
This text was written from an interview conducted by Catherine Richer, cultural columnist on the show 15-18. Comments may have been edited for clarity or brevity.
Source: Radio-Canada
