Bridging Health Gaps With Inclusive Urbanization | Think Global Health

Type Web Page Author Jessie Pinchoff URL https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/bridging-health-gaps-inclusive-urbanization Date 15/10/2020 Website Type Articles Language en Abstract Cities are leaving behind their youngest and most vibrant residents. In the coming decades, cities will look remarkably different. In just ten years, more than half of all urban populations will be under the age of eighteen. By 2050, over sixty percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas, and the urban population will be disproportionately young and unable to join the workforce. Young people living in urban centers are four times more likely to be unemployed than adults. As the rapid pace of urbanization continues and the COVID-19 pandemic causes unknown ripple effects on societies and economies around the world, the global health community must embrace an inclusive urbanization strategy to accelerate progress on basic health outcomes. Inclusive urbanization is an approach to proactively address inequities across wealth, environment, and social identity to ensure that no one is ‘left behind’ or excluded from urban economic growth and global health gains. While urbanites generally have better access to health services and, by extension, better health indicators, these services are not equitably distributed across communities, and some city-dwellers may be worse off than their rural counterparts. Website Title Council on Foreign Relations | Think Global Health