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. 2024 Feb;101(1):120-140.
doi: 10.1007/s11524-023-00798-9. Epub 2023 Dec 18.

How to Achieve a Healthy City: a Scoping Review with Ten City Examples

Abbas Ziafati Bafarasat  1 , Ayyoob Sharifi  2   3
Affiliations

How to Achieve a Healthy City: a Scoping Review with Ten City Examples

Abbas Ziafati Bafarasat et al. J Urban Health. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

This scoping review of the literature explores the following question: what systematic measures are needed to achieve a healthy city? The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests 11 characteristics of a healthy city. Measures contributing to these characteristics are extracted and classified into 29 themes. Implementation of some of these measures is illustrated by examples from Freiburg, Greater Vancouver, Singapore, Seattle, New York City, London, Nantes, Exeter, Copenhagen, and Washington, DC. The identified measures and examples indicate that a healthy city is a system of healthy sectors. A discussion section suggests healthy directions for nine sectors in a healthy city. These sectors include transportation, housing, schools, city planning, local government, environmental management, retail, heritage, and healthcare. Future work is advised to put more focus on characteristic 5 (i.e., the meeting of basic needs for all the city's people) and characteristic 10 (i.e., public health and sick care services accessible to all) of a healthy city.

Keywords: Healthy cities; Public health; Sustainable development; Urban health; Urban planning; World Health Organization (WHO).

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The 11 characteristics of a healthy city according to the WHO [4]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The health spectrum (Authors)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Protocol, conduct, and analysis of this scoping review (Authors, based on: [17, 18]
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
PRISMA-ScR flow diagram of this scoping review (Authors, based on: [18, 21]
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Copenhagen Five-Finger Plan 1947 version (left) and 2007 version (right) [146]
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The Conway Center in Washington, DC [8]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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