Editors' introduction

In the final chapter, possible new ways for the study of urban human biology are discussed. Although various approaches might be possible, two approaches, one of them epidemiological, the other one, anthropological, are considered most pertinent. The use of epidemiological techniques with clearly defined urban variables within an adaptability framework has much mileage, as has the use of ethnography, modernisation studies and studies of urban pathways, for the identification of new, urban characteristics that impact on human biology. Vital to the future of urban human biology is the reformulation of human ecology within an adaptability framework, in which social and organisational constructs are regarded as components of the stress environment.