title: Evaluating WHO Healthy Cities in Europe: issues and perspectives.
abstract: In this introductory article, we situate the findings of the Phase IV evaluation effort of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network in its historic evolutionary development. We review each of the contributions to this supplement in terms of the theoretical and methodological frameworks applied. Although the findings of each are both relevant and generated with a scholarly rigor that is appropriate to the context in which the evaluation took place, we find that particularly these contextual factors have not contributed to optimum quality of research. Any drawbacks in individual contributions cannot be attributed to their analysts and authors but relate to the complicated and evolving nature of the project. These factors are also reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Community Health Systems and Policy, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, evelyne.deleeuw@deakin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Leeuw
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D002958:City Planning / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019058:Community Networks / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D005060:Europe; D040361:Healthy People Programs / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D014504:Urban Health; D014944:World Health Organization