Gender and urban health: a Latin American structured tool for research and policy

Latin American cities have evolved via exclusionary historical processes, resulting in hasty and unplanned urbanization, insufficient infrastructure, and extreme levels of violence. These issues have well-documented health implications. In urban settings, gender may lead to unequal access to opportunities and services, however, its consideration into policies, interventions, and research remains insufficient, potentially exacerbating urban inequities. Drawing inspiration from feminist urbanism and urban health research, we propose a structured tool for Latin American cities to develop gender-sensitive urban policies, interventions, and urban health research. The study encompassed: (1) a narrative literature review of feminist urbanism frameworks and the Delphi method to select the most appropriate dimensions; (2) a thorough examination of data availability and indicators in three studies of urban transformation interventions in Brazil, Colombia, and Chile to evaluate data availability and local interest; and (3) an urban health dialogue with the relevant indicators. We identified three key dimensions: "proximity", "autonomy", and "representativeness". Neighborhood was considered the most meaningful level for analyses. The indicators were organized into subdimensions, considering existing literature on their implications for gender and health. The proposed tool is comprehensive and adaptable, thus, it can be used in diverse Latin American urban contexts. It is a valuable resource for incorporating a gender-sensitive perspective into urban policymaking, interventions, and health-related research.