Mapping socioeconomic disparities in urban health: a comparative study of six Brazilian capitals

Abstract

A city is a way of living, thinking, and feeling. The urban lifestyle can produce ideas, behaviors, values, and knowledge. Still, it can also intensify socioeconomic and health disparities in the population. This article examines urban health disparities in six Brazilian capitals: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte, and Manaus. To quantify and map intra-urban disparities in these spaces, data from the 2010 Demographic Census are used to apply the Urban Health Index, a metric that synthesizes eight different socio-economic and sanitation variables disaggregated by census tracts. The results are discussed in light of three theoretical perspectives: center-periphery differentiation, the economic approach to health, and social epidemiology. The findings of this study reveal that census tracts covering populations with higher socio-economic status and better sanitation conditions exhibited higher urban health index scores than those in the city’s periphery. Results indicate better urban health indicators for Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, compared to the other capitals analyzed. However, there are important nuances in each of the six cities, especially when assigning different weights to the variables that compose the Urban Health Index, despite the marked spatial segregation common to all. Considering distinctions within urban space is a fundamental strategy to understand these social and economic aspects and their potential implications for population health conditions.