DESIGNING FOR HEALTHHealth workers are providing knowledge andresources to help built environment professionalsdesign cities that support healthy living.WORDS SUSAN THOMPSON AND ANTHONY CAPON

' FARMERS MARKETS BRINGHEALTHY FRESH FOOD CLOSERTO WHERE PEOPLE LIVE

AUSTRALIA IS FACING RISING HEALTH COSTS

due to epidemics of obesity, diabetes and otherlifestyle diseases, prompting health workersto increasingly focus on strategies for theprevention of disease. Recent research hasdemonstrated links between these modernepidemics and the ways in which we live incities; car-dominated transport, reducedopportunities for physical activity, increasedavailabiiity of fast food and a lack of socialconnection have all been implicated.

To be effective in prevention, healthworkers need to support built environmentprofessionals in designing cities that enablehealthy ways of living. It is important for designand planning professionais to understandrelationships between the built environment andhealth. This understanding shouid be appliedfrom the beginning of the design process forindividual buildings, open spaces and broaderprecincts. It also needs to underpin planningpolicies and practice because retrofittingis costly and sometimes impractical.

So how can public heaith research assistlandscape architects to make heaithy designdecisions? A good starting point is Healthy BuiltEnvironments^ a literature review that examinesthe role of the built environment in supportinghuman health as part of everyday living. Thereview provides a comprehensive evidence basefrom an Australian perspective. It identifiesphysical inactivity, social isolation and obesityas major risk factors and proposes three keybuilt environment domains that can supporthuman health.

Firstly, the built environment canincrease opportunities for, and reduce barriersto, physical activity. However, the varyingneeds of different population groups (such aschildren, the elderly and disabled), tbe purposeof the activity (transport or ieisure) and thecharacteristics of the built environment (such as

residential and commercial densities, land usemix, open space, connectivity and accessibility)must be considered in order to understand howthe environment can best support physicalactivity. Integrating land use and transport andproviding street networks and infrastructureto promote walking and cycling, as well aspreserving a variety of green open spaces forrecreation, can support physical activity.

Secondly, the built environment playsan important role in strengthening andconnecting communities by facilitating socialinteraction in public spaces, such as parksand lively streets. Such spaces need to be safe,inviting and meaningful for local communities.Residential development that is integrated, yetprivate should be encouraged and communityempowerment should be enabled throughparticipation in land use and design decisions.

Thirdly, through zoning and landuse regulation, the built environment cansupport access to healthy food. Examplesinclude reducing exposure to fast food (bothstores and advertising) in the vicinity ofschool environments, retaining peri-urbanagricultural lands as a source of local healthyfood and encouraging the establishment offarmers' markets and community gardens.

Staying connected to the latest findingsis important for designers who want to createhealthy built environments. Internationally,the work of planner and architect Jan Gehlis an inspiration. Gehl's focus is on ordinary,everyday places and the ways in which theycan facilitate healthy and happy lives, as wellas contribute to environmental sustainability.Gehl has long argued that the human dimensionhas been overlooked in city design. His classictext Life Between Buildings (1987) still has muchto offer built environment professionals, as dohis more recently published books New City Life(2006) and Cities for People (2010). And if you are

seeking an up-to-date and comprehensive texton healthy planning. Making Healthy Places^(2011) gives an excellent overview of the issues.

At the national level, the PlanningInstitute of Australia's Healthy Spaces and Placesis an excellent web-based guide to creatingsustainable communities. The website wasdeveloped in partnership with the AustralianLocal Government Association and the NationalHeart Foundation of Australia (healthyplaces.org.au). The National Heart Foundation also providesuseful resources for healthy design, which arefree from Its website (heartfoundation.org.au).

Guidance is also available at state andlocal levels, such as the New South WalesPremier's Gouncil for Active Living (PGAL),which has a valuable website and monthlynewsletter (pcal.nsw.gov.au). Various healthauthorities also provide a range of informationon their websites, including VicHealth, whichhas had a longstanding focus on healthy builtenvironments (vichealth.vic.gov.au), and NSWHealth, which has published an excellentchecklist for healthy urban development (health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/2010/hud_checklist.html).

Built environment professionals canhelp keep Australians heaithy through wiseplanning and design. This shouid not be seenas an additional impost for the professions.Rather, it is an opportunity to realize additionalbenefits from good planning and design practice.Human health benefits can help make the casefor investment in good landscape design.

1. Jennifer Kent. Susan Thompson, and Bin Jalaiudin,Healthy Built Enyironments: A review of the literature.(Sydney; Healthy Built Environments Program, CityFutures Research Centre. UNSW. 2011). be.unsw.edu.au/programs/healthy-buiit-environments-program/literature-review

2. Andrew L. Dannenberg, Howard Frumkin and RichardJ. Jackson (eds) Making Heülthy Places: Designing andBuilding for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability(Washington DC: Island Press. 2011).

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