Several studies have shown dense urban structures to be favourable in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport, limit energy consumption in buildings and protect farmland and natural areas in the surroundings of the city. There may, however, be some tensions between such a compact urban developmental strategy and considerations of public health in urban planning. This paper reviews findings from international research on the relationships between urban form and health and illustrates some of these effects by comparing statistics on life expectancy and the frequency of heart attacks among inhabitants of different urban districts in the Norwegian capital Oslo. Since we have only had access to aggregate figures at the level of urban districts, the results must be interpreted with caution. The currently available results do, however, suggest that the densification strategies often recommended for reducing the ecological footprints of cities might be encumbered with some important drawbacks, seen from a public health perspective. Based on the findings, some dilemmas and perspectives for sustainability- and health-oriented urban planning are discussed.
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