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Urban Planning and Health Equity. Integrating Global and European Perspectives in Local

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Urban Design and Planning for Age-Friendly Environments Across Europe: North and South

Part of the book series: Future City ((FUCI,volume 19))

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Abstract

Promoting health equity is a place-based issue that goes way beyond the health sector alone. Urban planning plays a key role in addressing inequities in the social, economic, built, and physical determinants of health. The WHO and EU have been stressing the need of placing health equity at the core of urban policies to ensure that everyone has fair access to resources and opportunities to be healthy. Currently, there is more guidance than ever before, with a wealth of frameworks, tools, guides, and best practices. However, for most city governments, the integration of a health equity into urban planning processes remains a challenge. The chapter begins with an overview of the relationship between urban planning and health equity, how it evolved across time, and how it shaped emerging research and practice on healthy urban planning. Then, a set of guiding points are presented considering the added value of informing health equity-oriented urban planning: (i) conceptual frameworks addressing complexities of urban health, (ii) urban health assessment tools, (iii) inclusive and participatory urban planning, (iv) Health Equity in All Policies approach and participatory governance, (v) innovative urbanism and networking, and (vi) new urban models changing the urban design for health.

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Acknowledgments

This work received support from the Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT), funded by national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the reference UID/GEO/04084/2020. Angela Freitas is a recipient of an Individual Doctoral Fellowship funded by national funds through the FCT, under the reference SFRH/BD/123091/2016.

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  1. Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning (CEGOT), Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Ângela Freitas & Paula Santana

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Correspondence to Ângela Freitas .

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  1. ABIO Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Elisa Pozo Menéndez

  2. ABIO Research Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ester Higueras García

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Freitas, Â., Santana, P. (2022). Urban Planning and Health Equity. Integrating Global and European Perspectives in Local. In: Pozo Menéndez, E., Higueras García, E. (eds) Urban Design and Planning for Age-Friendly Environments Across Europe: North and South. Future City, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93875-8_1

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