The Lancet  
Jun 02, 2012  Volume 379  Number 9831  p777 – 2116
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorials
Shaping cities for health: a UCL/Lancet Commission
The Lancet

Preview
Cities are bustling, vibrant, built-up places where millions of people reside, often in close proximity to each other. Most, whether in high-income or low-income countries, exist with vast, and very visible, social and health inequalities between inhabitants. But the provision of health services cannot reduce these inequalities alone; the physical fabric and design of a city also have parts to play. In today’s Lancet, we publish a joint Commission with University College London (UCL) that sets out how policy makers can develop urban areas to foster the health of citizens so that they become healthy cities.

The Lancet Commissions
Shaping cities for health: complexity and the planning of urban environments in the 21st century
Yvonne Rydin, Ana Bleahu, Michael Davies, Julio D Dávila, Sharon Friel, Giovanni De Grandis, Nora Groce, Pedro C Hallal, Ian Hamilton, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Ka-Man Lai, CJ Lim, Juliana Martins, David Osrin, Ian Ridley, Ian Scott, Myfanwy Taylor, Paul Wilkinson, James Wilson

Key messages
– Cities are complex systems, so urban health outcomes are dependent on many interactions
– The so-called urban advantage—whereby urban populations are, on average, at an advantage compared with rural populations in terms of health outcomes—has to be actively promoted and maintained
– Inequalities in health outcomes should be recognised at the urban scale
– A linear or cyclical planning approach is insufficient in conditions of complexity
– Urban planning for health needs should focus on experimentation through projects
– Dialogue between stakeholders is needed, enabling them to assess and critically analyse their working practices and learn how to change their patterns of decision making