Preface

Faced with an interest in achieving meaningful, fair and lasting solutions in order to contrast and reduce health inequalities, we have worked to implement the formulation of new multidisciplinary approaches, oriented to the quality of life within an ecological model of health. This scientific initiative—which arises from the interest of the Working Group on Equity in Health, inside Sapienza University of Rome—was built with a solid multidis-ciplinary approach. There is a growing awareness that facing the complexity that today’s world increasingly presents us, requires a convergence of viewpoints and experiences, as well as the study and sharing of objectives and approaches. In this regard, we need to draw on the philosophy of SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. More specifically, we should highlight the interdepen-dence of the Goals, and therefore, the need for coordination of the sectors concerned has launched its very important challenge. At first glance, it could therefore be said that the volume considers the interaction between Goal 3—Health and Wellbeing— and Goal 11—Sustainable Cities and Communities. This is certainly true, however, if we look closer we can see the need to consider how much the promotion of health in urban areas, or the focus chosen for this meeting, is also closely linked to Objective 16—Peace, Justice and Solid Institutions—, as well as to Objectives 6—Clean water and sanitation—, 7—Clean and accessible energy—, 9—Enterprises, innovation and infrastructure—, 12—Responsible consumption and production—, 13—Fight against climate change—. And how can we fail to invoke the more classic objectives, which in the medical-scientific literature take the name of ‘determinants of health’? That is, the 4th—Quality education—, the 8th—Decent work and economic growth, the 1st—Defeating poverty—and the 2nd—Defeating hunger. And last but certainly not least, Objective 5—Gender equality (and opportunities like this represent not only an exchange of knowledge between different areas of study and disciplines, but also lay the foundations for creating an increasingly complex network of scientific culture and operational collaboration. We therefore believe that these initiatives have the potential to transfer knowledge and also gain the attention of public opinion, influ-encing decision-makers through advocacy. In addition, given the key to the general understanding of ‘urban health’ as the quality of life and well-being in the urban and residential space that characterizes the conditions of the community to which the Sapienza research group has allocated its action-research, it is our hope that the result will also be the promotion of health protection initiatives and participation in the formulation of public interest programmes (policy-making).