Search results

"This book sets out a road map for the provision of urban access for all. Cities in developing countries have followed a path of dependency on transport systems dominated by car usage and favouring the middle classes. Urban Access for the 21st Century looks at ways in which policies can be formed in the developing world to prevent cities in these countries from following the same trajectory, and to help them shift away from those policies which are embedded in current financial systems. Through a series of chapters form international contributors, the book brings together expertise from different fields to show how small changes can incentivise positive developments in urban transport and create truly accessible cities"-Provided by publisher

A distinction is made between output maximizing & cost minimizing approaches to national economic policy. It is argued that because the benefits & costs of economic activity frequently accrue to distinct groups in society, it is not automatically true that output maximization is the best strategy. This is especially true when the problems of distressed economic regions are concerned. National & multinational firms that make decisions pertaining to the economic life of local communities do so not on the basis of the costs & benefits to the community, but with regard to their private balance sheet. As a result, communities of individuals must frequently bear social costs far in excess of the private gains to the firms in question. From a policy standpoint, this is not an efficient use of either social or economic resources. In the absence of any type of comprehensive economic planning, a rational, market-oriented economic strategy would seek to minimize social costs. Modified HA.

For the first time in history, half of the world's population lives in urban areas and it is expected that, by 2050, that figure will rise to above two-thirds. A large proportion of this urban growth will be taking place in the cities of the developing world, where the provision of adequate health, shelter, water and sanitation and climate change adaptation efforts for rapidly-growing urban populations will be an urgent priority. This transition to an urban world could be a negative transformation; but, if well-planned, it could also offer an unprecedented opportunity to improve the lives o

Public health in the early 21st century increasingly considers how social inequalities impact on individual health, moving away from the focus on how disease relates to the individual person. This 'new public health' identifies how social, economic and political factors affect the level and distribution of individual health, through their effects on individual behaviours, the social groups people belong to, the character of relationships to others and the characteristics of the societies in which people live. The rising social inequalities that can be seen in nearly every country in the world today present not just a moral danger, but a mortal danger as well. Social inequality and public health brings together the latest research findings from some of the most respected medical and social scientists in the world. It surveys four pathways to understanding the social determinants of health: differences in individual health behaviours; group advantage and disadvantage; psychosocial factors in individual health; and healthy and unhealthy societies, shedding light on the costs and consequences of today's high-inequality social models. This exciting book brings together leaders in the field discussing their latest research and is a must-read for anyone interested in public health and social inequalities internationally