Urban Health: An Overview

For the first time in history, over half the world's population resides in urban areas. The challenge of urban health is already central to the social development of cities and this challenge will continue to grow as the urbanization trend continues. Urban health, particularly in the world's most rapidly urbanizing regions – the low- and middle-income countries referred to as the Global South – is largely determined by social and environmental factors, which are strongly interrelated. These include but are not limited to access to basic services and amenities associated with urban living, such as health care, transport, clean water, sanitation, education, and safe places to live and work. Climate change-related events, such as severe storms and floods, are interacting with and compounding existing urban health risks. Transport-related injuries and deaths are expected to increase as more vehicles are added to the already-chaotic fray of urban traffic. Addressing the urban health challenge will require an approach that focuses on the social and environmental determinants that drive health outcomes and understanding the complex interactions among them in the urban context.