A healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving the physical and social environments and expanding the community resources that enable people to support each other, lead a healthy and active daily life and develop to their maximum potential.
A healthy city is one which gives health priority and aims to improve it. It does not need to have a particular health status, but it does need commitment to improving health and a structure for doing this. The Healthy Cities approach emphasizes joined up, intersectoral planning and working to achieve improved health for all. It also stresses the importance of tackling inequalities and providing the same opportunities to all citizens.

Qualities of a Healthy City

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a healthy city ultimately as one which has a range of qualities or characteristics:

• a clean, safe physical environment of a high quality (including housing quality)
• an ecosystem that is stable now and sustainable in the long term
• a strong mutually supportive and non-exploitative community
• a high degree of participation in and control by the citizens over the decisions affecting their lives, health and well-being
• the meeting of basic needs (food, water, shelter, income, safety and work) for all the city's people
• access by the people to a wide variety of experiences and resources, with the chance for a wide variety of contact, interaction and communication
• a diverse, vital and innovative economy
• the encouragement of connectedness with the past, with the cultural and biological heritage of city dwellers and with other groups and individuals
• the encouragement of connectedness with the past, with the cultural and biological heritage of city dwellers and with other groups and individuals
• a form that is compatible with and enhances the preceding characteristics
• an optimum level of appropriate public health and sickness care services, accessible to all
• high health status (high levels of positive health and low levels of disease)