Healthy Cities, strategies and challenges in the new times

Abstract

In this article, we present a strategy of local development – Healthy Cities that has been practiced in some municipalities and regions of the country since the 1990s. The objective is to present a model of local development – Healthy Cities that has already been assumed by several municipalities of the country, since 1990, which, together with new agendas with which the country has committed itself, can help the country overcome the political, economic and values crisis it is experiencing, face the growing urbanization process and overcome the growing inequities that have made it difficult the life of the population that occupies and works in large, medium and small cities. The movement for Healthy Cities has been fostered and experimented in the country since the end of the 1980s with success in some regions of the country. The model is represented, with all its characteristics and the possibility of forming networks of municipalities that help each other and give strength to new projects. New United Nations agendas such as the Millennium Development Goals, with which the Brazilian Government was committed and which was successfully completed in 2014, involved Brazilian municipalities as a local and country commitment and their indicators served as a basis for evaluation of Healthy Cities projects and Agenda 21 to its end. Now a new agenda and new commitment to the Goals of Sustained Development have been assumed by the country that has committed itself to achieving goals by 2030. More than 200 mayors, appointed by the Association of Mayors, have already signed a term of commitment of their administration with the Goals of Sustainable Development, including among the municipalities included in the Sustainable Cities program. In this time of change this article can help those interested to find new practical theoretical support to find directions for the development of agendas that indicate ways to reduce inequities and improve the quality of life and health of the population.