The Expertise Centre Architecture, Urbanism and Health is hosted by the University of Groningen and supported by the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, and the University Medical Centre of Groningen. It explores the impact of architecture and urban design on public health. Health is not a medical condition. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 10-30 percent of the public health conditions can be attributed to the medical infrastructure. Architecture and urbanism play a major role in the remaining 70-90 percent. Spatial design has an impact on urban hygiene (sewage system, clean drinking water, public housing, access to greenery, walkability and cyclability, etc.). The unique quality of the Centre is that it approaches the spatial aspects of public health from the perspective of architecture and urbanism – and not from the perspective of public health.
