Over half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and more are moving in: just in the third world, cities grow by 1.2 million people every week. This has significant impacts on cities and their ability to function and support their populations. It also has major impacts on health and wellbeing, as population growth puts pressure on cities’ ultimately finite space and resources. In Belfast and Northern Ireland, rapid urbanization has largely stopped; rather, a key issue is suburbanization.

This also has significant implications for city governance, as it affects the population structure, as well as resources and demand for services. Suburbanization also brings its own set of health issues, in particular reduced physical activity, considerable car dependence, and often limited local social networks.

This publication aims to provide an overview of how the built environment contributes to and shapes health and wellbeing. It is published to celebrate World Health Day in Belfast, which this year, 2010 focuses on urbanization and health.