Urbanisation and Health: From Research to Action

Objectives
The objective of the urbanisation and health sub-plenary is to introduce current issues in the global evidence base around the social determinants of urban health equity, specifically in urban settings in low and middle income countries; and to provide an opportunity to discuss implications for policies and intensified action on these issues in urban settings around the world.

Key message
The world is now predominantly urban and becoming increasingly more so. This is posing new public health and environmental sustainability challenges. Most of the projected urban growth will take place in cities of low and middle income countries where infrastructure, institutional capacity and conditions of daily living are already challenged. The sub-plenary poses the idea that a new paradigm for urbanisation is needed – one that is based on principles of health, current and inter-generational equity and environmental sustainability – and outlines areas in which action can be taken to support this.

Session format

Part A) The evidence: short presentations

Part B) Evidence into action: debate and dialogue ‘on the couch’

The debate and dialogue session is designed to pick up on the key issues identified in the short presentations and speak about the practical implications and possible actions. An interviewer will play the role of a political commentator and quiz the people on the couch on some of the evidence, policy and practice issues raised in part A.

The urbanisation and health sub-plenary links directly to the core themes of the IUHPE conference – health, equity and sustainable development – demonstrating how attention to the structural and daily living conditions in urban environments are a necessity if the IUHPE goals are to be achieved.

Chair:

• Dr. Katrin Engelhardt, Western Pacific Regional Office of WHO & University of Munich, Germany
  

• Mr Clive Needle Eurohealthnet, Brussels, Belgium
  

• Prof. Sharon Friel, Sharon Friel, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia & The Department of Epidemiology and Public Health University College London, UK
  Presentation (PPS, 10 MB)
  

• Dr Jean Christophe Fotso, African Population Health Research Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
  Presentation (PPS, 3 MB)
  
• Mr Phillip Baker, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
  
• Dr. Anne-Marie Robinson, Assistant Deputy Minister of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada, Canada
  
• Prof David Sattherwaite, Senior Fellow, Human Settlements Group, International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK
  
• Maria Lourdes Fernando, City Mayor Marikina City, Philippines
  Presentation (PPS, 4.7 MB)
  
• Dr Thomas Melin, Senior Policy Advisor UNHABITAT, Nairobi, Kenya
  
• Dr Mark Weiss, Chairman and CEO, Global Urban Development, Washington, DC, USA
• Malcolm King, PhD, Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health