Urban planning and public health share common missions and perspectives. Both aim to improve human well-being, emphasize needs assessment and service delivery, manage complex social systems, focus at the population level, and rely on community-based participatory methods. Both fields focus on the needs of vulnerable populations. Integration of these fields is essential in restoring and enhancing the health and vitality of the nation's places and people.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the synergies between urban planning and public health were evident in at least three areas: creation of green space to promote physical activity, social integration, and better mental health; prevention of infectious diseases through community infrastructure, such as drinking water and sewage systems; and protection of persons from hazardous industrial exposures and injury risks through land-use and zoning ordinances. During the middle of the 20th century, the disciplines drifted apart, to a certain extent because of their success in limiting health and safety risks caused by inappropriate mixing of land uses.

The interdependence of urban planning and public health in both research and intervention activities is evident in many areas. For example, to increase physical activity, persons need safe and accessible areas; development of these areas can be aided by determining the environmental barriers and facilitators that affect activity levels; designing, constructing, and maintaining community environments to help ensure safety and accessibility; and developing programs to encourage people to use improved community environments to increase their activity levels. Without the contributions of both disciplines, the odds of substantial increases in community physical activity decrease considerably.