9.-11.4.2025, Hannover-Herrenhausen, InterAcademyPartnership (IAP) et al.: International Urban Health Summit (IUHS)
Conference organizers:
Plenaries (beyond “Welcome” and “Setting the scene”):
- Urban Planning & Governance
- Built Environment & Urban Health
- Natural Environment, Climate Change & Urban Health
- Public Engagement & Urban Decision Making
- AI & Urban Health
- Education & Urban Health
- Final: Wrap up, next steps & closing remarks.
Supplemented by Breakout sessions, incl. “ART goes Urban Health” and “Nature Therapy”, and Poster session.
Program, final version:
IAP Press release on IUHS, 11 Apr 2025, https://www.interacademies.org/news/future-urban-health-starts-hannover-summit: The future of urban health starts at the Hanover Summit …brought together over 350 experts from 30 countries to explore the growing impact of urbanisation on health and to lay the groundwork for a global, interdisciplinary initiative in urban health – one that aligns science, policy and innovation for the future of city living … “attention to urban health has not been a priority for those in public health or medicine until now,” said Jo Ivey Boufford, … founding board member of ISUH … Researchers, practitioners and policy-makers from all corners of the world … presented global trends in urbanisation and its challenges, including social density, the growth of mega-cities, pollution, the distress of those living on the margins of society and their isolation. “Urban health is an issue that brings together several disciplines, from the medical professions to urban planning, via architecture, social sciences and even the arts,” added Peggy Hamburg, IAP co-President. “The scientific academies … should play an important role in promoting a holistic approach in this field,” she emphasised. This is the starting point of a global project led by an IAP working group to design, including through the use of artificial intelligence, an interdisciplinary programme that will bring together education, transport, social justice and urban health promotion services for a more liveable and resilient city.
For summary, press release and photo galleries, see https://www.interacademies.org/news/urban-health-global-agenda-highlights-iuhs-2025.
VW Foundation, https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/de/veranstaltungen/international-urban-health-summit
The research program “City of the Future- Healthy and sustainable metropolises” (www.urban-health.de, www.stadt-und-gesundheit.de), funded by Fritz and Hildegard Berg Foundation, was involved in the conference. Advisory Board and network members provided presentations, contributed to conference preparation, and (co-)chaired sessions:
- Plenary session 1 “Urban planning and governance”
- Breakout session 1-A “Urban planning for equity and cities’ resilience”
- Breakout session 1-B “Addressing implementation gaps”.
Plenary session 1 “Urban planning and governance”
- Marcus Grant, Editor in Chief – Cities & Health, United Kingdom
- Heike Köckler, Bochum University of Applied Sciences / Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association (ARL), Bochum, Germany
- Carlos Moreno, Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne and École des Ponts ParisTech, France
- Samuel Gachohi Njuguna, UN-Habitat, Nairobi, Kenya
- Wu Zhiqiang, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beijing, China
Chair: Rainer Fehr, Medical Faculty OWL, U Bielefeld.
Session exposé: Managing the pace of urbanization and promoting an approach to urban planning that fosters human health and wellbeing are at the core of the issues to be explored in this plenary session. The session will also examine ways to mobilize the political leadership to bring multiple stakeholders to the table. To advance a ‘Health in All Policies’ approach that promotes equity is a critical challenge for the future of cities.
Foto credits (above): Sofia Nitti/ The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP)
Framing slides, framing annotations (RF) [25-01].
Breakout session 1-A “Urban planning for equity and cities’ resilience”
- Sainath Banerjee, Urban Plus Solutions, India
- Sabine Baumgart, Bremen, formerly TU Dortmund, Germany: Urban Planning for healthy and resilient cities – insights from Germany
- Lisa Waegerle, University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany, and Julia Espinoza, Founder of the self-managed housing cooperative “Luchadores de Lo Hermida” in Santiago de Chile, Chile: Health justice through self-organized structures in urban planning: The example of dignified housing projects in Santiago de Chile
- Dennis Schmiege, Institute for Urban Public Health, Essen, Germany / Global Health Hub: Urban Health governance tools, from Global Health Hub perspective
Chair: Heike Köckler, Bochum University of Applied Sciences / Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association (ARL), Bochum, Germany
Session exposé: Urban planning as one policy field addressing relevant determinants of health is dealt with in this breakout session. The focus will be on ways to reach more health equity within urban societies and to increase cities resilience towards existing challenges like climate change, housing scarcity and pandemics. Insights from Germany, Chile, India and a global perspective will be put for discussion.
Breakout session 1-B “Addressing implementation gaps”
- Julius Freymüller, University Bielefeld, Germany: Good governance for urban green – Explorative review
- Thomas Claßen, LZG.NRW, Bochum, Germany: Implementing Municipal Public Health Action Plans in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Kolja Lange, Region of Hannover, Germany / Gesunde-Städte-Netzwerk (GSN): Healthy Cities networking to foster good governance
- Anne-Lisa Heye, University Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany: The Innovations Community Urban Health (ICUH) Project
- Franz Gatzweiler, Bonn University: A measure and method for assessing the systemic health of cities and human settlements.
Chairs: Samuel Gachohi Njuguna, UN-Habitat, Nairobi, Kenya; and Claudia Hornberg, Medical Faculty University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld (substituted by Rainer Fehr).
Session exposé: Even with the best of intentions, urban health and sustainability cannot materialize without robust implementation mechanisms. Implementation of programs and/or legal regulations means “real world” changes – in the environment and in institutions, fostering healthy living conditions. Non-implementation, however, is widespread and needs to be addressed. This session aims to identify steps forward, e.g. via dedicated (legal) case studies concerning the implementation and evaluation of health-promoting and health-protecting tools and actions.
Health governance – significant materials from UN Habitat:
IUHS breakout activities beyond science:
Schloss Herrenhausen, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Herrenhausen: … ehemalige Residenz der Kurfürsten und Könige von Hannover … klassizistische Dreiflügelanlage … 1819 bis 1821 durch König Georg IV. von Georg Ludwig Friedrich Laves erbaut. Nach der Zerstörung 1943 wurde das Schloss 2011 bis 2013 wiederaufgebaut … Sitz des Tagungszentrums und des Museums Schloss Herrenhausen …
Herrenhäuser Gärten, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herrenh%C3%A4user_G%C3%A4rten: … Der Große Garten … zählt zu den bedeutendsten Barockgärten in Europa … das historische Kernstück der Herrenhäuser Gärten … Georgengarten … 1726 … Anlage der zwei Kilometer langen, vierreihigen Herrenhäuser Allee …
[23-23]
Cf.:
- 6 Mar 2025, Φ International Urban Health Summit (9-12 April 2025): program update
- 6 Feb 2025, Φ Towards the International Urban Health Summit (IUHS), Hannover, 9-11 April 2025 – Draft program
- 25-26 Nov 2024, Φ♣ Wattenscheid: 10. Konferenz Stadt der Zukunft – Gesunde, nachhaltige Metropolen
- 8 Nov 2024, Φ Announcements of the International Urban Health Summit (IUHS), Herrenhausen Castle, Hannover, 9-11 April, 2025
- 6 Nov 2024, Φ♣ Akademientag 2024: In Städten gesund leben – in gesunden Städten leben
- 4 Sep 2024, Φ Academies’ Urban Health project
- 20 Mar 2024, Φ Ausschreibung: Junior-Forschungsgruppe zu Gesunden Nachhaltigen Metropolen / Call for proposals: Junior research group on Healthy Sustainable Metropolises
- 21-22 Nov 2023, Φ♣ KIX – IX. Konferenz Stadt der Zukunft, Bonn / 9th Conference City of the Future, Bonn
- 20 Nov 2020, Φ Dt. Stiftungszentrum: Jahresbericht 2020 „Lichtblicke“, inkl. „Stadt der Zukunft“
- 2013ff Project Urban health – Building bridges
- 8-11 Dec 1993, Φ San Francisco: 1st International Healthy Cities and Communities conference, incl. EIA/HIA session
- 6-7 Dec 1993, Φ San Francisco, Preconference: Healthy Cities Communications Toolbox Summary.
Human ecology and health 