The Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific (Oct 2022)
Healthy cities initiative in China: Progress, challenges, and the way forward
- Yuqi Bai,
- Yutong Zhang,
- Olena Zotova,
- Helen Pineo,
- José Siri,
- Lu Liang,
- Xiangyu Luo,
- Mei-Po Kwan,
- John Ji,
- Xiaopeng Jiang,
- Cordia Chu,
- Na Cong,
- Vivian Lin,
- William Summerskill,
- Yong Luo,
- Hongjun Yu,
- Tinghai Wu,
- Changhong Yang,
- Jing Li,
- Yixiong Xiao,
- Jingbo Zhou,
- Dejing Dou,
- Hui Xiong,
- Lee Ligang Zhang,
- Lan Wang,
- Shu Tao,
- Bojie Fu,
- Yong Zhang,
- Bing Xu,
- Jun Yang,
- Peng Gong
Affiliations
- Yuqi Bai
- Department of Earth System Science, Institute for Global Change Studies, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modelling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Yutong Zhang
- Department of Earth System Science, Institute for Global Change Studies, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modelling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Olena Zotova
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Helen Pineo
- Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, University College London, WC1H 0NN London, UK
- José Siri
- Independent Consultant, Urban Health, Philadelphia, PA 19103, United States of America
- Lu Liang
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, Denton, TX 76203, United States of America
- Xiangyu Luo
- Department of Earth System Science, Institute for Global Change Studies, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modelling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Mei-Po Kwan
- Department of Geography and Resource Management and Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong, China
- John Ji
- Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Xiaopeng Jiang
- Office of the WHO Representative in People's Republic of China, WHO, Beijing, China
- Cordia Chu
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia
- Na Cong
- Department of Earth System Science, Institute for Global Change Studies, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modelling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Vivian Lin
- LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- William Summerskill
- Consulting Editor, The Lancet, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AS, United Kingdom
- Yong Luo
- Department of Earth System Science, Institute for Global Change Studies, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modelling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Hongjun Yu
- Department of Physical Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Tinghai Wu
- School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Changhong Yang
- Division for Business Management and Quality Control of Sichuan Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, Chengdu 610041, China
- Jing Li
- Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenzhen; National Clinical Research Centre for Cardiovascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, National Centre for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China
- Yixiong Xiao
- Business Intelligence Lab, Baidu Research, Beijing, China
- Jingbo Zhou
- Business Intelligence Lab, Baidu Research, Beijing, China
- Dejing Dou
- Business Intelligence Lab, Baidu Research, Beijing, China
- Hui Xiong
- Artificial Intelligence Thrust, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China and The Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Lee Ligang Zhang
- iKang Healthcare Group, Beijing, China
- Lan Wang
- College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Shu Tao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
- Bojie Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Yong Zhang
- Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China
- Bing Xu
- Department of Earth System Science, Institute for Global Change Studies, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modelling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Jun Yang
- Department of Earth System Science, Institute for Global Change Studies, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modelling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Corresponding authors.
- Peng Gong
- Department of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Corresponding authors.
- Journal volume & issue
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Vol. 27
p. 100539
Abstract
Summary: China implemented the first phase of its National Healthy Cities pilot program from 2016-20. Along with related urban health governmental initiatives, the program has helped put health on the agenda of local governments while raising public awareness. Healthy City actions taken at the municipal scale also prepared cities to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after intermittent trials spanning the past two decades, the Healthy Cities initiative in China has reached a crucial juncture. It risks becoming inconsequential given its overlap with other health promotion efforts, changing public health priorities in response to the pandemic, and the partial adoption of the Healthy Cities approach advanced by the World Health Organization (WHO). We recommend aligning the Healthy Cities initiative in China with strategic national and global level agendas such as Healthy China 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing an integrative governance framework to facilitate a coherent intersectoral program to systemically improve population health. Achieving this alignment will require leveraging the full spectrum of best practices in Healthy Cities actions and expanding assessment efforts. Funding: Tsinghua-Toyota Joint Research Fund “Healthy city systems for smart cities” program.
