An essential collection that advances our understanding of how cities influence our healthMore than half the world's population lives in cities -- a figure that will grow to two-thirds by 2030. As global populations rapidly consolidate around urban centers, the scientific understanding of what this means for human health faces a new and greater urgency.Urban Health connects urban exposures -- the experiences, choices, and behaviors shaped by living in a city -- to their impact on population health. By using the ubiquitous aspects of the urban experience as a lens to study these exposures across borders and demographics, it offers a new, scalable framework for understanding health and disease. Its applications to public health, epidemiology, and social science are virtually unlimited.Enriched with case studies that consider the state of health in cities all over the world, this book does more than capture the state of a nascent field; it holds a critical mirror to itself, considering the next decade and arming a new generation with the tools for research and practice.

ContributorsForewordSECTION 1: Why cities, why health1. The present and future of citiesSandro Galea, Catherine K. Ettman, David Vlahov2. Why cities and health? Cities as a determinant of healthCatherine K. Ettman, David Vlahov, Sandro GaleaSECTION 2: Health challenges and opportunities in cities3. Economic conditionsAtheendar S. Venkataramani, Alexander C. Tsai4. Reducing poverty, improving healthSanjay Basu5. HousingRoshanak Mehdipanah, Alexa K. Eisenberg, Amy J. Schulz6. TransportationMark Nieuwenhuijsen, Haneen Khreis7. Aging populationsKathleen A. Cagney8. Children and adolescents in citiesShakira F. Suglia9. Inequities in cities and in urban healthBen Brisbois, Patricia O'Campo, Janisha Kamalanathan10. MigrationSabrina Hermosilla, Tahilia J. Rebello11. EducationJennifer Karas Montez, Amy Ellen Schwartz12. Healthy places to play, learn, and developRenée Boynton-Jarrett13. PollutionJonathan M. Samet14. Climate change and the health of urban populationsPatrick L. Kinney15. Crime and criminal justice in citiesMatt Vogel, Steven F. Messner16. Improving access to healthy food in citiesMonica L. Wang, Marisa Otis17. DisastersJames M. ShultzSECTION 3: Methods and approaches to understanding health in cities18. HistoryRichard Rodger19. A systems science approach to urban healthDanielle C. Ompad, Yesim Tozan20. SociologyLei Jin, Eric Fong, Chenyu Ye21.Urban planning: leveraging the urban planning system to shape healthy citiesHelen Pineo, Nici Zimmermann, Mike Davies22. Health services research: studying health care services in the cityMichael K. Gusmano23. Environmental Health Impact AssessmentCarlos Dora24. Multi-level perspectives on urban healthDustin T. Duncan, Yazan A. Al-Ajlouni, Ilgaz Hisirci, Basile Chaix25. Cells-to-society approachesGuia Guffanti26. Social networksAbby E. Rudolph27. Urban designOliver Gruebner, Layla McCay28. Urban land use and healthRohan Simkin, Karen C. Seto29. Community-based participatory research: an approach to research in the urban contextBarbara A. Israel, Amy J. Schulz, Chris M. Coombe, Edith A. Parker, Angela G. Reyes, Zachary Rowe, Richard L. LichtensteinSECTION 4: Case studies in urban health30. The Healthy Cities movementAgis D. Tsouros31. The Partnership for Healthy Cities: activating urban governments as engines of public health practiceAriella Rojhani, Charity Hung, Sally Chew, Christina Honeysett, Sandra Mullin, Adam Karpati32. CityHealth: policies for today's urban health challengesBrian C. Castrucci, Elizabeth A. Corcoran, Shelley L. Hearne, Katie Keith, Elizabeth Voyles, Catherine Patterson33. New York City: the Fit City exampleKaren Lee34. Boston, a case studyRuss Lopez35. Richmond, CA: health equity in all urban policiesJason Corburn, Joseph S. Griffin36. Case studies in urban health: Nairobi, KenyaAlex Ezeh, Blessing Mberu37. Observatory for urban health in Belo Horizonte City: an innovative and cross-sectoral collaboration in urban healthWaleska Teixeira Caiaffa, Amélia Augusta de Lima Friche38. Rapid urbanization in ChinaBrian J. Hall, Teng Ieng Leong, Wen Chen39. Regional planning for healthDavid Siscovick, Mandu Sen, Chris Jones40. Going biophilic, living and working in biophilic buildingsJie Yin, John D. SpenglerSECTION 5: The future of cities, the future of health41. City health departments: leading urban public health practiceDaniel Kass, Thomas Matte, Adam Karpati42. City leadership for health, equity, and sustainable developmentAgis D. Tsouros43. Teaching urban healthNicholas Freudenberg44. Urban health: looking to the futureDavid Vlahov, Catherine K. Ettman, Sandro GaleaIndex