Urban Health

Policy and Programs

The Academy’s policy staff focuses on developing evidence-based policies and programs in our priority areas of healthy aging, prevention, and eliminating health disparities in New York City and cities worldwide. Recognizing the importance of strong governance, leveraging public-private partnerships and multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral collaboration, the Academy works as a trusted partner, contributor, and convener to improve health policy in the city and the state. Academy programs such as Age-friendly NYC, DASH-NY, and our prevention programs work to shape policy that changes conditions at the community level by implementing evidence-based solutions to improve health.

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Research and Evaluation

The Academy houses three research centers focused on evidence-based research and evaluation to improve urban health. Our research efforts span disciplines including health policy, health economics, health systems research, cognitive and behavioral sciences, anthropology, urban planning, and epidemiology. In 2014, as part of a renewed commitment to innovative research to improve health, the Academy welcomed David Siscovick, MD, MPH, as Senior Vice President for Research. Dr. Siscovick will establish a new interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to research across the Academy’s priority areas of healthy aging, prevention, and eliminating health disparities.

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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars

The Academy has served as the National Program Office for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars (HSS) program, since 2007. Now in its last two years, HSS is an intensive and highly competitive interdisciplinary post-doctoral program, in which 12 scholars (selected through a national competition each year) receive two years of training at one of four universities: Columbia University, Harvard University, University of California (San Francisco and Berkeley), and University of Wisconsin-Madison. A few examples of scholar and alumni work in 2014 follow.

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International Society for Urban Health

As part of our commitment to developing the evidence base for the field of urban health and promoting a global awareness of the importance of cities, the Academy established the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) in 2002. It is the only nongovernmental organization to bring together academics, program leaders, and policy makers from across disciplines and sectors from health care to urban planning, transportation, housing energy and economic development, and more at the global level. The ISUH is in a critically important global position to inform policy and programs as the United Nations takes up the challenges of cities in its consideration of new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which countries will use to guide their planning for health and development in a variety of sectors.

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East Harlem Community

The Academy works closely with partners in its East Harlem neighborhood and the greater Harlem community to develop policies and programs that will support community economic development, improve access to opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity, and improve the health, safety, and quality of life of residents of all ages.

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Urban Health Events

The Academy partners with local, state, and national organizations, elected officials, and the business community on a range of conferences and events to increase the reach and impact of the Academy’s ongoing efforts in advancing its mission to improve the health and well-being of people living in cities.

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Healthy Aging

New York City is going to see a more than 40% increase in people 65+ over the next 25 years, and by 2030, people over 65 will outnumber school-aged children. Older people are and will continue to be a tremendous resource to the city, and we want to help them stay engaged and active in giving back to the community. The Academy worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop the global criteria for what makes a city “age-friendly” and was instrumental in launching New York City as the first major age-friendly city in the U.S. meeting WHO criteria. An age-friendly city is a place where aging isn’t a barrier to an active life—where older adults can shop, exercise, socialize, attend cultural events and walk the streets safely. The award-winning Age-friendly NYC initiative has catalyzed changes across all sectors of city life and serves as a national and international model.

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Prevention

The hallmark of the Academy’s work in prevention in New York City and across New York State is bringing policy to practice. We do this by working across sectors that impact health—from housing, transportation, education, and economic development, to health care and public health. The Academy plays an instrumental role in obesity prevention and health care reform initiatives, from the DASH-NY obesity prevention policy center and coalition to Prevention Agenda implementation and the New York State Department of Health Population Health Improvement Program (PHIP).

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Eliminating Health Disparities

The Academy works to identify and address the root causes of disparities in health among underserved and vulnerable populations as an important factor in all of our work. We conduct policy analysis, research and evaluation, advocacy, and education to provide evidence to decision makers and the broader community. The Academy has a long history of supporting harm reduction services and promoting policy and systemic change to address the needs of people who use drugs, a vulnerable population traditionally marginalized in health policy and the health care system.

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Center for Health Innovation

The Center for Health Innovation (CHI), founded in 2013 and directed by José A. Pagán, PhD, brings the perspective of behavioral economics to the implementation of health reform and to organizations interested in designing and developing innovative solutions to public health challenges that operate at the intersection between health care and other key determinants of health, and health care delivery systems that recognize the multiple behavioral, social, and economic determinants of health. At the heart of these efforts is the CHI’s ongoing commitment to the elimination of health disparities that persist in marginalized communities throughout the U.S.

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