Community-Based Health Education for Urban Populations: An Overview

The history ofpublic health has been intimately linked with the history of cities. Cities are both the birthplaces of the great epidemics of infectious diseases, environmental pollution, and social problems such as addiction and violence and the source of public health innovation such as clean water systems, public sanitation, and the community health education campaign.`14 In the broader society, cities have also had this dual identity. On one hand, they are the centers of human civilization, the places that draw people from the countryside to find work, culture, and excitement.5 On the other hand, the neon lights and anonymity of "sin city " are believed to lure people into lives of dissipation and ill health. Urban crime, poverty, and pollution exemplify the dangers of the city. The urban physical and social environments have a profound impact on health and disease. Moreover, an increasing proportion ofthe world's population now lives in cities.6 Yet, in the past decades, public health researchers have shown remarkably little interest in the urban environment as an object of study. Social epidemiologists have generally focused on other variables such as class, race, ethnicity, gender, or poverty status to