Integrating human health into urban and transport planning

Over 50% of people worldwide live in cities, and this figure will increase to up to 70% over the next 20 years (United Nations 2014). The United Nations projects that nearly all global population growth from the years 2016 to 2030 will be absorbed by cities, about 1.1 billion new urbanites over the next 14 years. While 50 years ago there were only 3 megacities (>10 m inhabitants), Tokyo, Osaka and New York- Newark, today there are 28 megacities, and by 2030 there will be 41 (United Nations 2015a). In recent years, attention has turned to cities, not only because of the multiple challenges cities present but also because of the potential solutions cities could provide to pressing societal problems such as poverty, climate change and disease. The United Nations Habitat New Urban Agenda (UN Habitat 2016) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2015) have provided new impetus into the urban development agenda and its linkages to human health. New organizations like C40 (www.C40.org), led by city mayors, have taken the lead in the fight against climate change. Cities have long been known to be society’s predominant engine of innovation and wealth creation, but they are also a main source of pollution, crime and disease (Bettencourt et al. 2007). Today, only 600 urban centres generate about 60% of the global GDP (Dobbs et al. 2011). The top 20 metropolitan areas in the United States contribute 52% of the total country’s GDP. Also, there is a strong positive correlation between the degree of urbanization of a country and its per capita income that has long been recognized. Double a city’s population, and its economic productivity goes up by 130% (Bettencourt et al. 2007; Bettencourt and West 2010). Resource sharing, quicker and better matching and more learning have been suggested as the drivers of the higher productivity of cities. Increasing urban population density is favourable as it gives residents greater opportunity for face-to-face interaction. Productivity and innovation tend to be higher in cities leading to higher wages and improved standards of living. As such, cities attract more workers resulting in positive loops of growth, productivity and innovation.

source :

http://dl1.wikitransport.ir/book/Integrating_Human_Health_into_Urban_and_Transport_Planning_2019.pdf