50 Years of Healthy Cities!
2020 marked the 50 year anniversary of the first class of students in UC Berkeley’s Masters of City Planning + Masters of Public Health masters program, as well as an unprecedented moment for the field of urban health. At this pivotal movement, this student-led project celebrates the past, present and future of this unique academic community. Through stories, reflections and multimedia, this timeline shares elements of history created by intrepid students, innovative faculty and an evolving political context.
This project also honors the contributions of CED/SPH professor Len Duhl, a pioneer at the intersection of these two fields, who passed away in 2019. Dr. Duhl is often called the grandfather of the Healthy Cities Movement due to his contributions to foundational ideas and texts. The Healthy Cities (or Communities) Movement is an expansive and evolving network of cities which are mobilizing community wide action to improve public health. After its formal launch at the WHO Europe in 1986, the movement grew from its modest beginnings into an international movement which, at its core, sought to build health and community participation into the decision making process of local government. Today the legacy of the movement - which dates back to its roots at Berkeley - can be found in urban health promotion strategies world-wide.
As we celebrate the legacy of healthy communities at Berkeley, we are also looking ahead to the next generation of professionals in these fields. We hope you will explore the stories in the Timeline on this page and the “Community Stories” tab of this website.
