Amsterdam faces significant challenges. Many residents live with multiple illnesses simultaneously, the population is ageing, and the ‘health gap’ is widening highly educated residents live longer and healthier lives than those with lower education and income. Within the Centre of Expertise Urban Vitality, lecturers, researchers, and students collaborate with professionals, community organizations, local governments, and residents to tackle these challenges to make vitality accessible to all.
Our mission
Equal opportunities in vitality and health are important for all of us. However, this is not a given for everyone. People in vulnerable positions are more likely to experience negative impacts on their health, social life, or finances. In the Netherlands, health disparities have increased in recent years, and we see this trend in Amsterdam as well. The number of healthy life years is strongly dependent on the neighborhood you live in. People living outside the city ring tend to die, on average, 5 years earlier than those living within it. Furthermore, residents in Noord, Nieuw-West, and Zuidoost not only have a shorter life expectancy but also live an average of 10 years in worse health.
Amsterdam has been a vibrant city for centuries. The Centre of Expertise Urban Vitality (CoE UV) collaborates with partners to improve the vitality and health of all residents of Amsterdam. This means focusing on physical, mental, and social health. It also involves strengthening motivation, resilience, and opportunities for all residents.
More examples and new projects can be found on the website.
Coordinator
Mischa Schönenberger (program manager) and Bart Visser (scientific director) /urbanvitality@hva.nl