Praise for Urban Health and Society "This is a spectacular resource for practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and students interested in improving the lives and health of individuals and families in urban settings. This book provides the most current frameworks, research, and approaches for understanding how unique features of the urban physical and social environments that shape the health of over half of the world's population that is already residing in large cities. Its interdisciplinary research and practice focus is a welcome innovation." Hortensia Amaro, associate dean, Urban Health Research; Distinguished Professor, Bouve College of Health Sciences; and director, Institute on Urban Health Research, Northeastern University "Urban Health and Society: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research and Practice provides students in public health, urban planning, social work, and other professions with the critical knowledge and practical guidance they need to work as effective members of interdisciplinary teams aimed at studying and addressing urban health problems. Throughout the chapters, the book's attention to community participation, social justice, and equity as well as interdisciplinary research methods make it an invaluable resource." Barbara A. Israel, professor, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan "The book will be of great interest to academics, politicians, planners, and public health professionals attempting to understand or reduce urban health risks, create safe urban environments, and deliver effective and sustainable health services and programs to urban populations." Stephen Lepore, professor and PhD program director, Department of Public Health, Temple University

By exploring the uniquely dense urban network of the Low Countries, Janna Coomans debunks the myth of medieval cities as apathetic towards filth and disease. Based on new archival research and adopting a bio-political and spatial-material approach, Coomans traces how cities developed a broad range of practices to protect themselves and fight disease. Urban societies negotiated challenges to their collective health in the face of social, political and environmental change, transforming ideas on civic duties and the common good. Tasks were divided among different groups, including town governments, neighbours and guilds, and affected a wide range of areas, from water, fire and food, to pigs, prostitutes and plague. By studying these efforts in the round, Coomans offers new comparative insights and bolsters our understanding of the importance of population health and the physical world - infrastructures, flora and fauna - in governing medieval cities.

This book is a collection of policy briefs produced from research presented at the 16th Conference on Urban Health in Xiamen, China, November 4–8, 2019, under the theme “People Oriented Urbanisation: Transforming Cities for Health and Well-Being”, co-organized by the Urban Health and Wellbeing (UHWB) programme of the International Science Council (ISC). The UHWB programme takes an interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and systemic view on issues of health and wellbeing in cities which include the urban economy and finance systems, education, employment, mobility and transport, food, energy and water resources, access to public services, urban planning, public spaces and urban green, as well as social inclusion. Contributions to this book have been made by scientists from multidisciplinary research fields. The policy briefs in this book present the background and context of an urban health issue, research findings and recommendations for policy/decision-makers and action-takers. In some cases, they inform about relevant events and developments from the science community or important opinion pieces which address health emergencies, like the current COVID-19 pandemic. The book is intended for citizens and political decision-makers, who are interested in systems perspectives on urban health and wellbeing, examples of how to deal with the increasing complexity of cities and the accompanying environmental and social impacts of increasing urbanization. Furthermore, it hopes to inspire decision-makers to facilitate finding solutions, in order to reach the goal of advancing global urban health and wellbeing.

Today, we know cities as shared spaces with the potential to both threaten and promote human health: while urban areas are known to amplify the transmission of epidemics like Ebola, urban residency is also associated with longer, healthier lives. Modern cities encompass a wide ecology of infrastructures, institutions and services that impact health, from access to improved sanitation and early childhood education to the design of buildings and transportation systems. So how has this centuries-long transformation in human settlement affected the mindset surrounding public health research and practice? Urban Public Health is an interdisciplinary collaboration from experts across the globe that approaches the issue of urban health research from a uniquely public health orientation. The carefully crafted and thoughtful chapters in this volume grapple with the complexity of the urban setting as a physical and social space while also providing an abundance of global and local examples of current urban health practices. Urban Public Health is divided into four pragmatic sections which cover core conceptual models of public health and their inequities, methods of urban health research assessment, methods of urban health research analysis and explanation, and ultimately, opportunities for urban health research to inform action through partnership and collaboration, including those which elevate community voices and capacities. An accessible guide for both students and researchers alike, Urban Public Health shines a light on how to understand, measure and change the urban setting so that cities grow, people thrive, and no one is left behind.

The editors are two of the most prominent researchers in this area. Both are at the Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies. David Vlahov is particularly visible and known as the editor of the Journal of Urban Health. Sandro Galea is very prominent for his research on urban health; in particularly, research done on PTSD and children post-9/11. Thorough analysis of different populations in urban settings and specific health considerations Useful section on methods for the research audience. Applied in nature with section on prevention and interventions There are over 100 urban health centers in North America and there are no thorough, up-to-date ressources.

'Urban Sprawl and Public Health' offers a survey of the impact that the built environment can have on the health of the people who inhabit our cities. The authors go on to suggest ways in which the design of cities could be improved & have a positive impact on the well-being of their citizens.

The 1980s opened a discussion of the varying nature of health in different segments of the United States. Falling under the rubric of "health disparities," a great deal of research has been published demonstrating the substantial differences in health status within a population. The causes of health disparities are varied and not always clear but most researchers agree that disparities are a reflection of social and economic inequities and political injustice. One of the obstacles to addressing disparities is the lack of meaningful health data especially for vulnerable populations, which is often nonexistent despite being a critical factor for informing health programs and policies at the local level. This book provides a model for combating health disparities by describing how the authors gathered local health information, engaged the community at every step of the process, and created movement toward evidence-based sustainable change.This book describes how a landmark health survey in Chicago generated dramatic data that are allowing investigators throughout the city to move from data to action and from observation to intervention. In providing a detailed description of how the community-focused collection and analysis of health data can serve as an impetus for improved well-being, Urban Health is an invaluable resource for researchers, community groups, students and professionals.