RESUMO
Urbanized and built-up environments are determinants of health as well as community health. Therefore, we intend to analyze the influence of urban development on both public and community health, from the perspective of gender, citizen participation in urban planning projects, and accessibility. From a bibliographic review and narrative analysis, based on the experience of the authors, we found several urban transformation projects focusing, in particular, on four large areas: school centres and playgrounds, empty urban spaces and disused buildings, pedestrian pathways, and various housing interventions. The participatory processes (driven by institutions and/or citizens) developed within the framework of urban diagnostic projects and the preparation of plans and projects, constitute a double opportunity to work on community health: on the one hand, considering them as an objective, and on the other, as a tool to design environments that promote the well-being of the community. The incorporation of citizens and the collaboration of all the agents involved, taking their diversity into account, are essential, and this is a shared responsibility between local/supra-local administration, and citizenship. Regulation must be designed to facilitate the processes and when it is applied must allow the population to take a central role in the transformation of environments that will promote well-being and health.