The Future and Urban Health Equity

Health equity is likely to be the next civil-rights movement.

Differences in health that are avoidable and unfair define health inequity. And there are great health inequities everywhere, including in the world’s cities, as revealed in the recent report of the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. This session will present the state of health inequities and the factors and forces leading to either greater or less inequity in the future within and among the world’s cities. This will feature the work of the Institute for Alternative Futures on disparity-reducing advances in the United States and the Rockefeller Foundation’s Global Research Network on Urban Health Equity. Topics will include the relationship of urban planning, social conditions, climate change, globalization, urban and regional governance, and technology to urban health equity.

Who should attend: Government officials, business people, planners, and individuals interested in health care and equity; individuals concerned about the future of their community’s and country’s health; and people interested in how the United States, Canada, and beyond can develop systems for fairness in health.

What you'll learn: Determinants of health; the relevance of health equity to urban planning, social conditions, climate change, globalization, urban and regional governance, and technology; and major advances that could reduce health disparities—e.g., healthy public policy.

How this new knowledge can be applied: This information can be applied to considering or reconsidering the aspirations and planning of your organization—whether you are in the health field or a broader field.

Clement Bezold, founder and chairman of the board, Institute for Alternative Futures; contributing editor, The Futurist magazine; member, Association of Professional Futurists, Alexandria, Virginia

Trevor Hancock, population health promotion consultant, Victoria, BC