INNO 604 Urban Health and Social Innovation Lab

The year 2009 marked the year in which, for the first time in the Earth's history, more people lived in urban settings than in rural settings. It is estimated that by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in an urban environment. This course brings an interdisciplinary approach to provide students the knowledge and skills to address the global health challenges in rapid urbanizing regions of middle and low-income countries. Urban areas present particular health risk factors and complex interactions of issues such as climate change, migration, infectious and chronic diseases, and mental health, which requires practitioners to develop cross-sector collaborations and innovative approaches to public policy.

The course will allow students to understand how the social gradient affects populations in urban settings and how to develop health-related interventions that are sensible to the human rights, social and gender disparities in such environments.

Students will have the opportunity to learn from representatives of local governments and non-governmental organizations on how projects to improve urban health indicators are designed, executed and evaluated.