Our built environment refers to the physical surroundings people interact with in their daily lives – this includes our infrastructure, housing, places of work, green spaces and planning.
It is a fundamental determinant of health with both social and commercial spaces in a neighbourhood determining our food environment, our choices of leisure activities and the availability of community support. The availability of green spaces and infrastructure for active travel are also important, contributing to air quality as well as our physical and mental wellbeing.
Housing supply and quality can also affect our health, as people exposed to cold, damp, overcrowded living conditions are more susceptible to a range of illnesses, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as well as mental health issues. These are all important areas that could be influenced by planning and housing policies.
Today, our Policy Lead for Healthy Places, Matt Ashton will be speaking at the Healthy City International Design International Congress about the approach being taken in Liverpool to ensure that health and wellbeing is placed at the heart of planning in the city.
To coincide with the congress, which will be exploring urban renewal and health equity over the course of the next two days, we have published our new policy position statement on the built environment and outline our national and local recommendations for ensuring that all our spaces are designed with our health and wellbeing in mind.
