One Health 4 Cities turned a concept into a city-making transformation approach
“When you see the city through the One Health lens, it is difficult to unsee it.”
When the One Health 4 Cities network was established, the concept of One Health for cities held different meanings across Europe.
In Lyon, the Lead Partner, the vision was already clear: cities needed to move beyond reacting to health and environmental crises and start planning preventively, using One Health as a framework that connects human health, animal health, plant health and environmental health. What Lyon lacked were concrete urban case studies, tools and tested ways to embed One Health into strategies, policies, and projects.
Across the rest of the network, Munich, the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, Benissa, Loulé, Kuopio, Lahti, Suceava, and Elefsina, the starting points varied widely. Some cities were already working on health, nature, or climate, but far from combining all the One Health domains. Others were encountering One Health for the first time, trying to understand how a concept often used in global health or veterinary science could apply to urban development, urban planning, school programmes, active ageing and other city priorities.
Departments were siloed. Languages differed. Expectations were uneven. And progress, at first, was slow. Now, almost three years later, One Health is no longer an abstract idea for these cities. It has become a shared planning lens, a common language, and most importantly, a practical way to design healthier, more resilient cities.
