Commission calls for city planners to consider health issues

City governments need to do more to meet the health needs of city dwellers through better urban planning, concludes a commission on healthy cities.

The joint commission set up by University College London and the Lancet examined the many complex factors, other than health services, that contribute to the health outcomes of city dwellers. These include sanitation and waste water management, transport, building standards, and air quality.1

“There has been a widespread failure of governments to address urban health adequately,” said the lead author of the commission’s report, Yvonne Rydin, chair of planning environment and public policy at UCL. “While cities have the potential to be …