Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming health inequities in urban settings

Overview

While urban living continues to offer many opportunities, these advantages can be extremely uneven in their distribution. Looking beyond the bustling marketplaces, skyscrapers and big city lights, today’s cities across the world contain hidden cities, masking the true lives and living conditions of many city dwellers. Certain city dwellers suffer disproportionately from poor health and these inequities can be traced back to differences in their social and living conditions. No city is immune to this problem.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) joint global report, Hidden cities: unmasking and overcoming health inequities in urban settings, exposes the extent to which certain city dwellers suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and health problems.

This report provides information and tools to help governments and local leaders reduce health inequities in their cities. The objective of the report is not to compare rural and urban health inequities. Urban health inequities need to be addressed specifically for they are different in their magnitude and in their distribution.