Effects of urbanisation and suburbanisation on health in the Bogotá region

This chapter seeks to analyse and determine how urbanisation and suburbanisation affect health, taking as a case study the urban agglomeration of Bogotá and neighbouring municipalities for the study period of 1998-2012. This analysis is conducted using several indicators to characterise trends in population, urbanisation and suburbanisation and their effects on health, which is assessed as total deaths in Bogotá and Savanna. The indicators used for this study include the population, urban density, number of deaths and main causes of death, which are calculated for Bogotá and every neighbouring municipality selected. Some municipalities (Chia, Cajica and Cota) demonstrate how, in the process of suburbanisation and urbanisation, consolidation with different conditions and levels of development affect the health of the population, with increases in deaths by disease and cancer. This study's findings are important in that the evidentiary aspects of urbanisation and new populations on the neighbouring municipalities of Bogotá can be considered for formulating comprehensive regional developmental policies to improve welfare and habitability, particularly for vulnerable populations.