City health development planning. A working tool: concept, process, structure and content

City health development plans are central to phase III of the WHO Healthy Cities project in Europe. Their primary role is to provide cities with a means to build and maintain strategic partnerships for health, and to develop a platform to encourage all sectors to focus their work on health and quality of life. The city health development planning process is therefore the key tool of the healthy city project in working towards the goals and aspirations of phase III.

The purpose of this document is to clarify the concept of the plan, and to provide clear and succinct information on the planning process. It gives guidance on the structure and content of the plan document, and provides case studies describing the approach taken in a number of cities. It includes an annex containing a checklist intended to assist cities during the preparation of their plan documents.