Healthy City Planning: Insights from China

Abstract

City planning, a major means for the allocation of resources and shaping of urban space, is an authoritative guide for the promotion of public health. Healthy city planning is considered one of the most important instruments for building a 'Healthy City', which is an important concept proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This chapter elaborates on the development progress of healthy city, the research progress of healthy city planning, and the theoretical exploration and practical experience in China. We propose both theoretical and practical frameworks for healthy city planning and investigate the potential capacity of health impact assessment (HIA) as a policy tool to integrate health into city planning. It is concluded with the challenges and experiences of research, and the practice of healthy city planning in China, aiming to shed light on the important principles in developing a healthy city in different contexts across the world.