ABSTRACT
The choices made today by governments and development assistance agencies will be a main influence on which of these two possible urban futures becomes the reality in the next century. The centre of any initiative to address the problem of emerging and re-emerging diseases in cities is the healthy cities model that has already been described, with good management in public and environmental health and with all sectors of a city's society supported in contributing to health. The better the quality and the more universal the coverage of systems providing piped water, sanitation, drainage, the collection and safe disposal of garbage and primary health care, the less the risk of emerging or re-emerging diseases. The consultation process with the community and many different agencies and groups seeks to develop a ‘vision’ of the future directions of the city and to understand its current strengths and weaknesses.
