Urban Health Institute Introduces a New Course at Johns Hopkins University

Published
Urban Health in Contemporary America

Last Thursday, March 29, the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute (UHI) rolled out a new course, Urban Health in Contemporary America. In this course students will examine structures that impact the determinants of health within the context of urban environments. 

The goal of the course is to equip students with the knowledge and tools to: 

  • Describe the historical forces that led to the rise of cities in the U.S. and the social and economic factors shaping contemporary urban crises

  • Develop and apply a framework for conceptualizing urban health, its components, and their interrelationships

  • Assess the relative importance of the characteristics of contemporary U.S. cities in shaping the health of their populations

  • Articulate the structural factors that lead to advantaged and disadvantaged populations in major urban centers in the U.S.

  • Explain and discuss controversies in urban health from multiple perspectives

Dr. Robert Blum, the director of the UHI, along with a number of guest speakers, will be leading students the next seven weeks through a series of sessions, students will explore urban health through the lens of Baltimore by exploring historical factors, taking a tour of the city, examining the determinants that effect health in urban populations, and discussing and debating topics that impact the Baltimore community and other urban cities across America, such as poverty, racism, policing, and housing.

Students will also have the opportunity to attend out of class events such as the Urban Health Institute’s upcoming Social Determinants of Health Symposium on April 30.

Learn more about the new course by visiting the website