HCD 2024 Welcome address

Last year’s event was a great success, and we want to build on that this year with learning from across the world and making connections and driving actions to create healthy cities of the future.

Over the past year, we have continued our hard work here in Liverpool to achieve our vision of making this city a healthy and sustainable one. We are again proud to showcase Liverpool as a city in which significant collaborative work is being undertaken to achieve positive health outcomes and learn from the international community. Liverpool is a city of firsts when it comes to health: Dr Duncan, born and raised in Liverpool, was the UK’s first medical health officer; Thomas Fresh, a pioneer in British environmental health, became Liverpool’s first public health officer in 1844; and Kitty Wilkinson opened the first UK public wash house and baths in Liverpool in response to the cholera epidemic of 1832.

The recently published report ‘State of Health in the City: Liverpool 2040’ identified the significant health challenges faced by Liverpool but also the actions we are taking and need to take collectively to improve the lives of our residents. The buildings and places in which we live, work and play are a foundational determinant of health across the life course with the power to affect both our physical and mental health and wellbeing. Outside the home, we need access to open, social and neighbourhood spaces, as well as easy access to commercial spaces that are planned to provide opportunities for a diverse range of healthy food and leisure activities.

Urban policymakers, planners, city developers, practitioners, health partners, public health teams and others must work together to bring together the local and global – activating measures that improve the lives of citizens and reduce health inequalities, while addressing the wider impacts of planetary health to chart a path to sustainable development. I’m pleased to say this work has continued to develop in Liverpool since last year’s Congress and, in particular, collaboration between public health and planning teams is showcasing how preventing health issues from the very start will not only save billions of pounds but save lives too.

The Healthy City Design 2024 International Congress is a global forum for the exchange of knowledge on the research, policy, and practice of designing healthy and sustainable cities and communities. We’re confident that this year’s programme agenda will generate a wealth of progressive, impactful and inspiring conversation.