Health is not a medical condition. Healthcare systems – general practitioners, hospitals, and psychiatric clinics – only contribute to 10-30 of public health (the numbers vary, but the facts are clear). A clean outdoor and indoor climate, the provision of pure drinking water, physical exercise, physical social contact with one’s fellow citizens, positive distraction, access to healthy food, prevention of smoking, alcohol and drug abuse – to mention only a few parameters – have a much bigger impact. To a large extent, these are determined by the layout of cities.
Today’s cities are a collage of districts and neighborhoods that stem from different historical periods. They are collages of urban models, some of which – the housing estates of the late nineteenth century reform movement, the garden city model, the modernist public housing projects of the 1920s and 1930s, for example - were inspired by the ambition to promote health. Statistics show that inequalities in people’s health status are not only defined by income, education, gender and other well-known determinants, but also by the spatial characteristics of neighborhoods. Adopting a comparative, historical approach, participants will engage with pertinent and topical questions about the effects of health promotion strategies in the urban context. The participants track the historical genealogies of health promotion strategies and presents potential improvements for today along the lines of:
- the analysis of particular architectural and urban characteristics, past and present;
- the mapping of the daily rhythms of the inhabitants, past and present;
- the examination of public health data.
This summer school confronts its participants with the need to develop multi- and transdisciplinary ways of working that combine the expertise of spatial designers, governance experts, community workers, public health experts, and professionals in the field of urban studies, architectural and urban historians, and cultural historians. This allows participants to get a fine-grained picture of (health) inequalities in Western European cities and address all aspects of the problem.
Course leader
Prof. dr. Cor Wagenaar
Target group
This summer school is designed for students at undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate level, and for professionals interested in or involved in urbanism and health.
The topic, health promotion by interventions in urban space, design and society, is multidisciplinary almost by default. The target groups reflect this: we are open to all students who wish to explore the intersections between public health, architecture and urbanism, and governance. Participants may have different backgrounds, ranging from architectural and urban history, cultural history, cultural and social geography, urban studies, public health, medical sciences, urban governance, architectural and urban design, to landscape architecture.
It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.
Course aim
After this course you are able to:
- Critically assess the ways in which (local) authorities have developed strategies to promote (public) health since the late 19th century
- Distinguish between a variety of health promotion strategies through time and space
- Analyse the impact and effectiveness of (public) health policies, past and present
- Interlink historical legacies and trajectories of health promotion to topical challenges with regard to (public) health promotion in the city
Credits info
1.5 EC
Participants who participate in all sessions will receive a certificate of attendance signed by the coordinators of the summer school. Upon request the certificate can mention the workload of 50 hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recognition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.
Fee info
EUR 500: The fee includes: participation in the programme, lunches, coffee/tea breaks, social programme
For further information, please click the "LINK TO ORIGINAL" button below.