Urban Health in Mexico and Jalisco: Challenges and Opportunities from a Governance and Territorial Justice Perspective

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.51572142603074

• Palavras-chave: social determinants of health; territorial governance; spatial justice; sustainable mobility; urban health.

• Keywords: social determinants of health; territorial governance; spatial justice; sustainable mobility; urban health.

• Abstract:

  Urban health is emerging as an interdisciplinary field in the process of consolidation in Mexico, in which the relationship between the built environment, mobility, services, and environmental quality determines the well-being of the population. This article presents a scoping review of the urban determinants of health, with a special emphasis on the state of Jalisco and the challenges facing its territorial governance. Based on the methodology of Arksey and O’Malley (2005), 85 academic, regulatory, and institutional documents published between 2010 and 2025 were identified, selected, and analyzed. The results indicate that the main urban determinants associated with health in the Jalisco context are mobility, access to public spaces, air pollution, and unequal territorial planning. Although progress has been made in promoting non-motorized mobility, reclaiming public spaces, and metropolitan planning, structural gaps persist in intermunicipal coordination and the mainstreaming of policies. The discussion concludes that strengthening metropolitan governance with a focus on territorial justice represents a strategic opportunity to integrate urban health into regional development policies and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.