A city in good shape: town planning and public health

Abstract

The paper is an historical essay on the relationship between town planning and public health. It contrasts two moments of agreement between doctors and planners. The unifying paradigm of the 1840s centred on streets and ventilation, that of the 1940s, on neighbourhood units and procreation. Though the professions have drawn apart in the postwar period, it is suggested that the 'New Public Health' and 'New Urbanism' may contain the potential for a fresh appreciation of mutual interests.