Category: European Cities

Edinburgh and Madrid have very little in common. One sits on a northern Atlantic coast, shaped by industrial heritage and a National Health Service; the other lies on the high Castilian plateau, Mediterranean in character, with a different welfare tradition and a healthcare system excellent at acute care but historically less focused on prevention. Yet…

Villaverde sits in the southern reaches of Madrid, separated from the city’s prosperous north by more than geography. It is one of the capital’s most densely populated districts and one of its most socioeconomically deprived. Premature mortality from cardiovascular disease here is significantly higher than the Madrid average — following the socioeconomic gradient in cardiovascular…