5 Keys to Achieving Healthy Cities

The rapid urbanization process taking place in recent decades in Latin America and the Caribbean has ushered in new opportunities for millions of people, but it has also brought about serious problems, mainly caused by the absence of adequate urban planning and inadequate provision of infrastructure and housing services.

Faced with the need to promote healthier living and orderly urban spaces that foster well-being and social interactions, CAF—development bank of Latin America—published the Guide for Healthier Cities, which contains conceptual frameworks, recommendations, and use cases to lead a healthier life in cities based on the interaction between the urban planning and health agenda, based on available internationally best practices.

According to the publication, designing or building a healthier city requires public policies that favor access to clean air, free of disturbing noise and with adequate infrastructure, that provide basic and safe environmental and sanitary conditions, and that encourage physical, leisure and care activity, which are fundamental to enhance the physical and mental health of the population.

In this connection, the guide highlights five principles for healthier cities:

1. Ensure and preserve the quality of natural support.
2. Provide efficient and equitable infrastructure.
3. Promote and encourage physical activity.
4. Facilitate access to healthy food.
5. Provide equitable and universal access to healthcare services.

“Cities can produce solutions to address environmental, social or economic conflicts thanks to close contact with the population. In this regard, local governments play a pivotal role in promoting inclusive, resilient and safe urban spaces, and in fostering a vision of the city based on the care of its inhabitants,” said Christian Asinelli, Corporate Vice President of Strategic Programming at CAF.

The guide identifies the most contemporary practices renowned for their effectiveness, including projects and actions that specifically target urban environmental assets, tools for soil planning, the importance of urban form design and quality design in general, all actions to provide cities with high-quality public and green spaces, and the change in the notion of mobility of people and goods instead of the circulation of vehicles.

The publication also recommends comprehensive city planning, favoring economic growth and social inclusion, and the implementation of policies that promote access to health and meet the needs of the entire population, not as a homogeneous set of people, but by recognizing their differences.