Our central question is how the local public health services can influence urban development and urban renewal policies. The need for a three-way cooperation between departments of urban planning and development, environmental affairs and health is now being widely acknowledged. In practice, however, it has to face manifold and serious problems. We suggest that there are basically three essential "instruments" which could lead to a new and defined role of health departments in urban development: environmental and health audits, local health profiles and "health promotion committees" or similar bodies for closer cooperation at the local level. These three "instruments" are described in terms of the present state of development and dissemination by analysing empirical studies from public health research. The results indicate that the "new role" of local health services in urban planning and development is presently fulfilled only in a few pilot cases. The lack of basic requirements particularly in terms of resources, motivation and qualifications is the main cause for the inability to implement the three "instruments" on a broader level in local health services.
