Healthy cities, diseasogenic cities and the global south

Abstract

There are growing urban health issues globally, whereby social and environmental living conditions in cities and towns are contributing to poor health outcomes. The Global South is predicted to house almost all new cities and the majority of all urban growth on the planet by the middle of this century; the impact of these Southern cities on human health will be significant. Empirical evidence and theoretical narratives point to these new urban centres as 'diseasogenic cities', which contribute to the proliferation of ill health. In response, there is growing awareness and urgency of the need for 'Healthy Cities' that support well-being and improve health outcomes for inhabitants. This chapter critically examines the emergence of diseasogenic cities and implementation of Healthy City strategies in the Global South. Healthy City strategies have been critiqued on a number of fronts, including inequalities, as iterations of developmentalism and colonialism and failing for too many of their population. The chapter concludes by setting out a potential road map for Healthy City strategies in the Global South. The way forward requires radical rethinking of South urbanisms ranging from embracing alternative ontologies and epistemologies, local knowledge and societal/behaviour change, through to practical solutions for delivering context-specific sanitation and healthcare.