The role of visual images in urban planning for health equity

Abstract

Since the start of this century the role of urban planning for public health has increasingly been acknowledged, and important conceptual work has been carried out on the relationship between both disciplines (Northridge et al. Citation2003, Corburn Citation2009, Rydin et al. Citation2012, Giles-Corti et al. Citation2016). There is clear evidence that if we want to improve and promote health, we need to implement policies that tackle the social determinants of health, and that many of those determinants have a place-based component (Kindig and Stoddart Citation2003, Galea et al. Citation2005). Simultaneously, building on environmental and spatial justice theories, the unequal spatial distribution of benefits and burdens, and related health inequities, have been evidenced (Pearce et al. Citation2010, Friel et al. Citation2011, Walker Citation2012, Wolch et al. Citation2014). While there is agreement that urban planning in general is very important to tackle health inequities (Northridge and Freeman Citation2011), many open questions remain on how exactly urban planning can contribute to this goal. [...]