City leadership for health and sustainable development: the World Health Organization European Healthy Cities Network.

This paper provides an overview of European Healthy Cities Network (EHCN) organized by the WHO Regional Office Europe. The focus is on the third of five phases covering the period 1998-2002. Fifty-six cities were members of the WHO-EHCN and over 1000 European cities were members of national networks. Association with WHO has given municipalities legitimacy to move into a domain often associated with health service. Equity and community participation are core values. City mayors provide political leadership. Intersectoral cooperation underpins a Healthy Cities approach. The WHO Regional Office for Europe supports WHO-EHCN, providing guidance and technical leadership. Cities' processes and structures are prerequisits for improvements in health and are central to the evaluation of Phase III of the WHO-EHCN.