Urban Health: Catalyzing Transformative Policy and Systems Innovation for Equity and Resilience

With more than half of the world’s population now residing in urban areas, and low- and middle-income countries experiencing the fastest pace of urban growth, urbanization is transforming the global health landscape. Although urban environments create opportunities for innovation, economic development, and improved access to health and social services, they also intensify persistent health inequities. The COVID-19 pandemic further revealed the fragility of urban healthcare systems, exposing the consequences of fragmented governance, inadequate preparedness, and inequitable delivery of essential health services.Despite growing recognition of urban health challenges, the evidence base remains fragmented across sectors and disciplines, limiting its translation into scalable policies and resilient healthcare systems. Many urban health and care interventions continue to be implemented as stand-alone pilot initiatives, with limited consideration of governance, implementation processes, financing, equity, and long-term sustainability.This Research Topic adopts an integrated approach to urban health, encompassing the determinants that shape health in urban settings alongside the healthcare systems that must respond to these needs, recognizing that these interconnected dimensions cannot be effectively addressed in isolation. Therefore, it makes the urban healthcare systems accountable and capable of delivering not only curative services but also comprehensive (primary) prevention, health promotion, and health protection through multisectoral actions and intersectoral collaboration to improve population health and reduce inequities. These collaborations and partnerships enable urban governance to move beyond reactive healthcare toward proactive, equitable, and resilient urban health systems. This Research Topic seeks to address these gaps by promoting innovative research that examines how urban health systems can become more equitable, resilient, and responsive to current and emerging challenges.Submissions may include, but are not limited to, the following thematic and cross-cutting areas:Urban Determinants, Governance, and Systems: • Determinants of urban health equity • Urban governance approaches for healthy, equitable, and resilient cities • Planetary health equity, climate resilience and sustainable urban systems and policies • Antimicrobial stewardship within urban health ecosystems • Migration, health & care • Political economy of urban healthUrban Healthcare Systems and Governance:• Integrated urban health model through partnership between health systems and urban governance • Health systems preparedness for prevention and mitigation of infectious disease threats and the growing burden of chronic diseases • Mental health and psychological support systems • Digital transformation and urban health intelligence • Urban health and care delivery in fragile and conflict-affected settings Topic editors: Nilanjan Bhor, Sumaiya Arfin, Swadhin Mondal Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82744/urban-health-catalyzing-transformative-policy-and-systems-innovation-for-equity-and-resilience