Perspective

A New Interdisciplinary Science Plan for Urban Health and Wellbeing in an Age of Increasing Complexity

^a Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences
^b University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

^* To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: gatzweiler02@gmail.com

Abstract

Cities of the future will need to cope with the triple challenges of urban growth, planetary boundaries leading to reduced energy and other resources, and rapid climate change. In response to the challenges of these complexities, urban growth and innovations in networked infrastructure development need to go hand-in-hand to transform urban systems and sustain the urban health advantage. In order to achieve this, knowledge and policy-making need to undergo processes of accelerated learning. The International Science Council’s global science programme “Urban Health and Wellbeing: A Systems Approach” has formulated goals to meet the urban health challenges of future cities.