City Health International

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City Health International is delighted to announce we have established a blog on the website to promote debate and discussion around current issues of interest to the network. David MacKintosh, one of the founders of the network, writes a weekly piece, posted here. We also invite contributions to the blog from others with ideas and opinions on issues relating to health behaviours and urban health and well being and who wish to share with others. If you would like to contribute, please send your post to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will ensure it is posted on the site and placed in the weekly City Health alerts sent to those in the network.

Я не хочу наступать на пятки своим друзьям и коллегам, ведущим блог по науке и политике Никотина, но, поскольку 14 марта был Национальный День отказа от курения, немного поразмышляю о курении в Великобритании. Это было в 1984 году, сразу после того, как я начал свою первую работу, и я, признаюсь, курил. 34 года - это не о потраченных деньгах, поврежденной одежде, случайных ожогах (курение в шлеме безопасности - это не то, что я сделал бы снова), или другие риски, связанные с курением табака. Нет, это о факте, что мир тогда был совсем другим.

Now I don’t want to tread on the toes of my friends and colleagues on the Nicotine Science and Policy blog but, as it was National No Smoking Day on 14 March, I am going to reflect a little on smoking in the UK. It was first held in 1984, just after I had started my first job, and I was, I confess, a smoker. 34 years on what stands out most is not the money spent, the clothes damaged, accidental burns endured (smoking with a crash helmet on is not something I would do again) or the other risks associated with smoking tobacco.  No, it’s the fact the world was very different.

Добро пожаловать в мой первый блог для «Здоровья в городе» (City Health International). Мое намерение в ближайшие месяцы - взглянуть на инновации в исследованиях, политике и средствах массовой информации через призму городского здоровья и что это может означать для городского сообщества (и тех, кто читает этот блог). Хотя мой опыт работы в области национальной и региональной политики связан со злоупотреблением психоактивными веществами, и недавним интересом к вопросам преступности и антиобщественного поведения, я буду рассматривать гораздо более широкий круг тем. Прежде чем мы приступим к этому, я вкратце объясню, как я занялся феноменом городского здоровья, и как это помогло расширить мои горизонты, помимо алкоголя и наркотиков.

"Without knowledge action is useless and knowledge without action is futile."
Abu Bakr

I have now worked in the drugs and alcohol policy field long enough that people have started interviewing me to provide historical context. This prompts deeply ambivalent feelings. I am reminded that I am no longer in the first flush of youth, but the opportunity to reflect on developments over the last twenty years, consider what worked and why, is something to relish. Unlike the frustration at seeing the same failed idea or approach coming around the track again (and again..)

  1. David's blog #1: a year-round global community

David's blog #43: Mayors on Monday

Monday, September 23, 2019
Sometimes things just work out. Last Monday, I was involved in three separate events which each highlighted the potential of urban areas to effectively tackle health issues when there is political leadership to do so. The day also provided a timely reminder of the importance of harm reduction, and how this needs to be at the heart of health approaches in our cities. With so many countries and agencies forgetting the lessons of harm reduction, or actively turning their back on them for narrow ideological reasons, it was uplifting to hear examples which delivered quantifiable gains in terms of lives, better health, and human rights.

David’s blog #42: The Night Time Economy- Saviour or Villain?

Monday, September 09, 2019
With City Health 2019 in Melbourne now only weeks away, a headline in the papers caught my eye. According to the annual Global Liveability Index- whose criteria include stability, healthcare, culture, education, environment, and infrastructure- the Austrian capital Vienna narrowly beats Melbourne to the top spot. Of course, such rankings are open to debate and dependent on what you choose to measure but it’s fair to say the occupants of city halls take a degree of pride in seeing “their” cities topping the charts.

David’s blog #41: The End of Summer

Monday, September 02, 2019
This is not the blog I was planning to write. My intention was to look at developments in managing the Night Time Economy across a number of cities, an area where there is innovation and positive developments. Instead I feel compelled to look at an issue where the UK and others are demonstrably going backwards. Battles we thought had been won in fact appear lost, progress has not just stalled but been significantly reversed. It poses hard questions for many organisations and for individuals, including myself. So, come with me as I look at drug related deaths.

David’s blog #40: Seeing Clearly on Alcohol

Monday, July 29, 2019
I write this on a day when London is experiencing, what is for us, exceptional temperatures. Overhead power lines and train tracks have warped. On some routes passengers have been advised to avoid travelling if possible, and many employers have encouraged staff to work from home. I suspect many who did travel to their workplaces were drawn by the prospect of effective air conditioning as much as personal work ethic. This great City was unusually quiet, apart from the pubs and bars who were doing a roaring trade. Who would begrudge people a pint of beer or a glass of wine when it’s so damn warm, especially when by delaying travelling an hour or two, the journey home may be made a little more tolerable?

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CITY HEALTH INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

CHI Melbourne 2019

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CHI Liverpool 2019

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CHI Odessa 2018

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CHI Basel 2017

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CHI London 2016

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CHI Barcelona 2015

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CHI Amsterdam 2014

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CHI Glasgow 2013

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CHI London 2012

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City Health International
Founded in 2012 City Health International is a network of individuals and organisations engaged in the study of and response to structural health issues and health behaviours in the urban environment.
For the first time in history the majority of the world’s population now live in urban environments and the proportion continues to grow. As national governments struggle to deal with the pressures and demands of growing urban populations against a backdrop of financial deficits and uncertainty, it is increasingly left to those working at a city level to provide the leadership and support needed to tackle key health issues.
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