Help for Healthy Cities

Kicking off a new series on the role of cities in health, Majid Ezzati and colleagues issue a call for cities to overcome inertia and put health inequalities at the center of planning.

Urban communities can benefit from the concentration of knowledge and innovation, economic activity, healthcare, education, and other public services in cities, they note—but the benefits are unevenly distributed. Poor areas end up absorbing pollution and waste from wealthier areas, high housing costs push the poorest into slums, and migrants are clustered into areas without adequate services.

The BMJ series pulls out opportunities for planners to help address inequalities in areas including housing, migration, and water resource management, addressing extreme events and emergencies, and harnessing emerging technologies.

The BMJ