The healthy urbanism

Abstract

The article discusses the interrelation between urban planning, or rather, the planned development of cities, and public health, from a historical perspective, and focusses on the dimensions of the dialectic between two different social realities, which must play an essential role in the future. In a first analysis we defined milestones that have marked the last health perspective of urban design, from its initial conception to the current organizational design ecosystem, which involves the concepts of sustainable development and environmental health. With the basis on the above analysis, we have defined the dimensions of the so called 'healthy planning', which should focus the effort, both of experts on public health and of urban planning, as administration over the coming years: a) assessing the effects of urban development on health as a key feature of the work of territorial and urban planning, b) focus on social equity issues in cities, as a factor for improving health populations; c) the mainstreaming of risk prevention of mental illness as a determinant of territorial and urban planning, d) the mainstreaming of mitigation of climate change, also as a factor determining territorial and urban planning.