Content area
Full Text
This is the first in a Series of three papers about urban design, transport, and health
Introduction
Significant global health challenges are being confronted in the 21st century, including increases in unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), injuries from road trauma, and obesity, combined with population growth, rapid urbanisation, and climate change, prompting repeated calls to rethink approaches to prevention.1-5 Decisions about housing, food, water, energy, transport, social services, and health care6 will profoundly affect the health, wellbeing, and safety of growing and ageing urban populations.4,6,7 With the world's population estimated to reach 10 billion people by 2050, and 75% of this population living in cities,5 city planning is now recognised as part of a comprehensive solution to tackling adverse health outcomes.5
Associations between city planning and health are not new. In the 19th century, planning curbed infectious disease outbreaks in industrialising cities through improvements in sanitation and housing and separation of residential areas from industrial pollution.8,9 In the 21st century, well planned cities have the potential to reduce NCDs and road trauma and to promote health and wellbeing more broadly. This could be achieved by reducing automobile dependency, traffic exposure, pollution, noise, and urban heat-island effects, while enhancing mental health, contributing to climate change mitigation, and promoting walking and cycling in ways that are safe, comfortable, and desirable.
Leading global agencies recognise that city planning and management decisions affect the liveability of cities6 and, ultimately, the health and wellbeing of residents. WHO recommends "placing health and health equity at the heart of [city] governance and planning",10 highlighting the need for integrated urban planning, transport, and housing policy. This mirrors the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's call for leadership from "transport, land use and health ministers" to create the "legal, administrative and technical frameworks" that promote walking.11 Similarly, the UN has endorsed integrated agendas to combat NCDs.12 The UN's Sustainable Development Goals include promoting healthy lives and wellbeing by making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.13 However, changing the way cities are planned, built, and managed will require bipartisan political leadership and community engagement.
Significant global health challenges are being confronted in the 21st century, and well planned cities that encourage walking,...