Call for papers - Urbanization and health: Addressing key challenges

Guest Editor

Jason Corburn, PhD, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 28 June 2025

BMC Global and Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on identifying and addressing the key health conditions associated with urbanization. As the global population increasingly gravitates towards urban areas, understanding the health implications of this trend becomes paramount. Urbanization brings about a myriad of health challenges, including but not limited to infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, environmental health hazards, mental health issues, and disparities in healthcare access and quality.

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

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Meet the Guest Editor

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Jason Corburn, PhD, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Dr Jason Corburn is a professor at the School of Public Health and Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the Director of Berkeley’s Center for Global Healthy Cities. He is the author of five award-winning books, including Cities for Life, Slum Health, Healthy City Planning, Toward the Healthy City, and Street Science. Professor Corburn has advised the World Health Organization, World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and over thirty cities and national governments on practices and policies focused on urban health equity.

About the Collection

BMC Global and Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on identifying and addressing the key health conditions associated with urbanization. As the global population increasingly gravitates towards urban areas, understanding the health implications of this trend becomes paramount. Urbanization brings about a myriad of health challenges, including but not limited to infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, environmental health hazards, mental health issues, and disparities in healthcare access and quality.

This Collection aims to explore the complex interplay between urbanization and health, with a focus on identifying the key health conditions prevalent in urban settings and developing effective strategies to address them. We welcome contributions from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers that shed light on the following aspects:

Epidemiology of health conditions associated with urbanization, including trends, patterns, and risk factors
Social determinants of health in urban areas and their impact on health outcomes
Innovations in urban health surveillance, monitoring, and data analysis
Interventions and policies to prevent and control urban health challenges, with an emphasis on equity and sustainability
Community engagement and participatory approaches to promoting urban health and well-being
Cross-disciplinary research and collaborations to address urban health issues from multiple perspectives

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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To submit your manuscript, please use the BMC Global and Public Health online submission system and indicate in your covering letter that you would like the article to be considered for the 'Urbanization and health: Addressing key challenges' Collection. If you would like to enquire about the suitability of a manuscript for consideration, please email bmcglobalpublichealth@biomedcentral.com.

This collection of articles has not been sponsored and articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published. The Guest Editors declare that they have no competing interests. The Guest Editors serve an advisory role to guide the scope of the collection and commissioned content; final editorial decisions lie with the Chief Editor.