Health Departments in 17 Major US Cities Form National Network to Increase Life Expectancy and…

WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 4, 2026 - The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC), Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), and Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) Center on Society and Health today announced the local jurisdictions that will participate in the first phase of a joint project called CitiesLEAD: Increasing Life Expectancy through Collective Action and Data. Together, the participating health departments serve more than 30 million people.

"We are creating this national network to ensure not only access to appropriate life expectancy data, but also to facilitate moving data into action with the goal of achieving more equitable health outcomes," said Chrissie Juliano, BCHC's executive director. In their efforts to reduce health inequities, the participating health departments will receive technical assistance, data analysis, and peer-learning opportunities from BCHC, BPHC, and VCU.

Within US cities, life expectancy can vary by more than 30 years between neighborhoods and remains consistently shorter for Black and Indigenous residents compared to the US average. These disparities reflect the effects of systemic racism, historic disinvestment, and long-standing inequities in the social and structural determinants of health.

CitiesLEAD's strategy rests on three interconnected pillars:

• Data: Supporting city leaders to calculate, interpret, and visualize life expectancy and premature mortality data at the neighborhood level.

• Communication: Using data to challenge harmful narratives about inequities and share transformative, justice-centered stories of progress.

• Community Action: Supporting local partnerships and interventions that address structural inequities and the root causes of poor health outcomes.

Support for the first phase of this project was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

Other cities may join the effort as additional funds are raised.

• Last updated: May 5, 2026