Whether seeking new personal connections, or pursuing opportunities for jobs and education, or escaping a war zone – health and well-being are central to why people move from one place to settle in another. And when people move, they tend to gravitate toward big cities.

In fact, today, over 54 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66 percent by 2050, according to the UN report “World Urbanization Prospects 

This is because cities provide important “opportunity spaces” where people can expand their contacts and chase better economic status or personal dreams, said Franz Gatzweiler at the IAP for Health Conference in Beijing, China on 28 September. But not every city is built to sustain these spaces for its people. And the result is a big health impact that scientists and policymakers can’t afford to ignore.

Gatzweiler is the executive director of the global programme “Urban Health and Well-Being: a Systems Approach” at the Institute of Urban Environment Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China. The programme is sponsored by the International Council for Science (ICSU, the United Nations University and IAP for Health. And his talk was a highlight of the IAP for Health conference, where global leaders in healthcare and medicine met to discuss new and better ways to promote good health and well-being for a growing global population.

Please find the full coverage from IAMP.

 

 

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