Short-term health effects of an urban regeneration programme in deprived neighbourhoods of Barcelona

Urban regeneration programmes are interventions meant to enhance the wellbeing of residents in deprived areas, although empirical evidence reports mixed results. We evaluated the health impact of a participatory and neighbourhood-wide urban regeneration programme, Pla de Barris 2016-2020, in Barcelona. A pre-post with a comparison group study design. Using data from a cross-sectional survey performed in 2016 and 2021. The health outcomes analysed were mental health, alcohol and psychotropic drug use, perceived health status, physical activity and obesity. Depending on the investment, two intervention groups were defined: moderate- and high-intensity intervention groups. The analysis combined difference-in-difference estimation with an inverse weighting derived from a propensity score to reduce potential biases. The impact of the intervention in percentages and its confidence interval were estimated with a linear probability model with clustered adjusted errors. The intervention had a positive impact on health outcomes in women in the high-intensity intervention group: a reduction of 15.5% in the relative frequency of those experiencing poor mental health, and of 21.7% in the relative frequency of those with poor self-perceived health; and an increase of 13.7% in the relative frequency of those doing physical activity. No positive impact was observed for men, but an increase of 10.3% in the relative frequency of those using psychotropic drugs in the high-intensity intervention group. This study shows positive short-term effects of the urban regeneration programme Pla de Barris 2016-2020 on health outcomes in women in the high-intensity intervention group. These results can guide future interventions in other areas.