In this week's BMJ (full text online @ www.bmj.com) Policies to tackle social exclusion Graham Watt BMJ 2001; 323: 175-176. Health effects of housing improvement: systematic review of intervention studies Hilary Thomson, Mark Petticrew, and David Morrison BMJ 2001; 323: 187-190 Social environments and health: cross sectional national survey Andrew McCulloch BMJ 2001; 323: 208-209.