Housing and urban inequalities

Health inequalities, including those from housing and the urban environment, arise from an unequal distribution of exposure to health risk associated with socioeconomic factors.

Inequalities in risk exposure in housing and urban environments exist in all Member States, and a study conducted by WHO/Europe indicates that low prevalence of certain environmental exposures within the total population may hide stark inequalities in exposure between different population subgroups.

Health inequalities are among the main challenges to health in the European Region, according to WHO/Europe’s new health policy framework Health 2020. Current work on housing and urban inequalities focuses on helping countries prepare for national assessments of inequalities associated with housing.