Urban Health Approach to the Study and Development of Large Cities

It has been established that megacities, due to an excessive concentration of anthropogenic pressure, pose increased risks to human health and contribute to the growth primarily of mental illness. In this regard, a new medical-urban approach to the study of modern megacities is justified using the city of Moscow as an example. It is a multidisciplinary approach and includes a whole range of sciences and scientific directions: from urban planning, architecture, geography and ecology to medicine, psychology and sociology. It is confirmed by facts and arguments that the most effective for the implementation of the medical-urban approach is territorial planning, which is aimed at creating a spatial environment favorable for the human life and sustainable development of the city. It should focus on the spatial development of the territory, change the environment at the request of residents and form social design centers where residents, together with authorities and specialists, would propose initiatives for the development of their territories. It is illustrated by concrete examples that Moscow, as the basis of the urban development strategy, is oriented towards improving the quality of life and living comfort of the townspeople, the orientation of an acceptable health care system, health economics, and the fight against depression, which is characteristic of residents of all large cities of the world. The health programs of successful cities of the world (London, New York, and Singapore) and government programs of Moscow are analyzed, which are aimed at developing public ecological transport, forming an effective protection of public health from the adverse effects of urban factors, ensuring medical rehabilitation of the population and reducing risks to public health and improving the quality of life of citizens. It was revealed that the implementation of these programs in Moscow contributes to the formation of “health landscapes”: territories where the quality of the urban environment and living conditions of the population are approaching or correspond to the highest world standards.