Healthy Urban Environments

Set in the 'human-environment' interaction space, this book applies new theoretical and practical insights to understanding what makes healthy urban environments. It stems from recognition that the world is rapidly urbanising and the international concern with how to create healthy settings and liveable cities in the context of a rapidly changing planet. A key argument is that usual attempts to make healthy cities are limited by human-centrism and bifurcated, western thinking about cities, health and nature. Drawing on the innovative 'more-than-human' scholarship from a range of disciplines, it presents a synthesis of the main contributions, and how they can be used to rethink what healthy urban environments are, and who they are for. In particular, the book turns its attention to urban biodiversity and the many non-human species that live in, make and share cities with humans. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in human geography, health sociology, environmental humanities, public health, health promotion, planning and urban design, as well as policymakers and professionals working in these fields.

Cecily Maller is a Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow and Co-leader of the Beyond Behaviour Change Research Program - Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Australia.

Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Redefining healthy urban environments Part I: Understanding more-than-human theories Chapter 2 The Affective Turn: non-representational theories, affect and emotions Chapter 3 The New Materialisms Turn: materiality, vital materialism and assemblages Chapter 4 The Practice Turn: social practices, performance and routine Part II: Making more-than-human healthy urban environments Chapter 5 Understanding health as more-than-human Chapter 6 Cities as more-than-human habitat Chapter 7 Changing practices for understanding and making healthy urban environments Chapter 8 More-than-human healthy futures