Experts will discuss solutions to promote urban health, with a focus on urbanisation trends, the role of national academies and the exchange of ideas from various research areas to improve the quality of life in cities at the International Urban Health Summit 2025 in Hanover from 9 to 11 April 2025.

This important summit is a project of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina in close cooperation with The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), Akademienunion and Virchow Foundation, greatly supported by VolkswagenStiftung.

Over 4.4 billion people globally live in urban areas and the urban population is predicted to reach 6.7 billion by 2050, accounting for 70 percent of the world’s population. This poses social and environmental challenges that will have disproportionate impacts on the health and wellbeing of citizens, especially of socially and economically disadvantaged communities. The varied and complex nature of urban life can complicate the development and introduction of plans and policies to promote urban health in a holistic manner.

The “International Urban Health Summit” as part of the Herrenhausen Conference series in Hanover, Germany, aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to address key issues of urban health through the lens of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The conference will foster interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange on various aspects of urban health, including but not limited to:

• Urban Planning and Governance
• Built Enviroment and Urban Health
• Nautural Enviroment, Climate Change and Urban Health
• Public Engagement and Urban Decision Making
• Public Engagement in Urban Decision Making
• Education and Social Determinants of Health