Health Equity as a Guide for Urban Planning

Abstract

Urban planning has struggled to establish a consensus on what “good” planning looks like and instead grapples with balancing competing planning priorities and perspectives. This paper proposes that planners and planning scholars look to health equity as a guiding “north star.” We justify this proposal by reviewing scholarship at the intersection of planning and public health. Drawing from empirical and theoretical work linking urban planning, health, and social equity, we recommend planners adopt participatory and anti-racist practices; implement cross-sectoral strategies beyond the professional boundaries of urban planning or public health; and learn from diverse data sources, research methods, and geographic contexts.