ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the major elements implicit in the Healthy Cities concept and how they have been applied, and their implications for research. The conceptual elements are divided into two broad categories: concepts about health and concepts about strategies for achieving it. The three key elements relating to health are a positive model of health, an ecological model of health and a concern with health inequalities. The major elements concerned with strategies focus on process, public policy and community empowerment. The centrality of process in health promotion and the focus on the Healthy Cities project as a process is axiomatic. Process has been a major emphasis of the evaluation to date, a central component of the mid-term review of the project focuses on what makes for a successful Healthy Cities project. The strategy of developing healthy public policies is fundamental to health promotion and the Healthy Cities project.
