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Healthy urban development case studies

What do exemplar healthy urban developments look like? With the growing interest in ‘healthy’ buildings and places, we wanted to understand what could be considered best practice. This research involved a large review of published case studies, using professional organisations, newspaper reports, published academic research and other sources.

Our summary of each case study will be published incrementally in Spring 2022.

Are the projects ‘best practice’?

In publishing these projects, we are not endorsing them as ‘best practice’ or making any claims about whether they are good for health and wellbeing. We are hoping to learn about what the wider industry and professionals perceive ‘healthy’ development to look like.

Each case study was selected because it met our selection criteria:

  1. Describes an urban development project that explicitly aimed to promote or safeguard human health and/or wellbeing (including the related term of liveability)
  2. Urban development cases are recent, built after 2000
  3. Substantive data are available
  4. Data are available from sources that are not solely marketing material
  5. Design measures or processes are described (related to health and wellbeing)

How were the projects analysed?

We extracted information about each project from multiple sources and entered this into a template. The template included general project details (project size, location, type of development, etc.) and information specifically related to health.

We used the THRIVES framework as a way to consider how health and wellbeing were supported in each project. In reporting each project we explain how it relates to THRIVES through three scales of health impact (planetary, ecosystem and local) and the core principles (inclusion, equity and sustainability).

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation, an urban health charity in London. The research team includes Helen Pineo, Gemma Moore, Karla Barrantes Chaves, Elizabeth Cooper, Vafa Dianati, Kay Forster and Isobel Braithwaite.

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Guidance for healthy urbanism

Strategies for planning and designing healthy places are available internationally.

Before you start a new healthy urbanism project it is worth consulting local or international guidance. The publications shown below include checklists, case studies, policy and design measures, indicators and other resources.

You can search, filter or download this table to find guidance relevant for your needs. Note the abbreviations for buildings (BLDG) and neighbourhoods (NBHD).

If you are aware of guidance that should be added, please post it in the comments at the bottom of this page.

TitleCountry of Origin or UseScaleDesign/planning checklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicatorsDateAuthor
A Healthy City is an Active City: A physical activity planning guideInternationalCITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2008World Health Organization
Active City: Designing for HealthCanadaNBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2014City of Toronto
Active design guidelines: Promoting physical activity and health in designUSABLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2010City of New York
Active Design: Planning for health and wellbeing through sport and physical activityUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2015Sport England
Belfast Planning for Healthy Communities Resource PackNorthern IrelandNBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2014Belfast Healthy Cities
Building Environmentally Sustainable Communities: A Framework for InclusivityUSANBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2010Been et al 2010
Building healthy corridors: transforming urban and suburban arterials into thriving placesUSANBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2016Urban Land Institute
Building healthy places toolkit: strategies for enhancing health in the built environmentUSABLDG & NBHDNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2015Urban Land Institute
Building the Foundations: tackling obesity through planning and developmentUKCITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2016TCPA, LGA, PHE
Cities Safer By Design: Guidance and Examples to Promote Traffic Safety through Urban and Street DesignInternationalNBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2015World Resources Institute
Cities, health and well-beingUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2018Pineo and Rydin and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Creating Healthy Places through Active MobilityUSANBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2014Centre for Liveable Cities and Urban Land Institute
Delivering Sustainable Healthy Homes and Communities in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2016Town and Country Planning Association
Health + Mobility: A Design Protocol for Mobilising Healthy LivingInternationalNBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2016Arup, BRE, UCL, AREA Research
Healthy Active By DesignAustraliaBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2018Heart Foundation
Healthy Active By Design (Western Australia)AustraliaNBHD & CITYChecklistNonePolicy/design measuresNone2012Heart Foundation, Government of Western Australia
Healthy and safe communities (section of Planning Practice Guidance)UKBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneNonePolicy/design measuresNone2014Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
Healthy Built Environment (HBE) Linkages ToolkitCanadaBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2018Population & Public Health team at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)
Healthy by Design, local government implementation toolAustraliaBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2012National Heart Foundation of Australia (Victorian Division)
Healthy Communities Practice GuideCanadaBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicatorsn.d.Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP)
Healthy Community Design ChecklistUSABLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistNoneNoneNonen.d.US CDC National Center for Environmental Health
Healthy Community Design ToolkitUSABLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2014Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Healthy High Streets: Good place-making in an urban settingUKNBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2018Public Health England
Healthy Places: Code for CouncilUKCITYNoneNonePolicy/design measuresNone2011Urban Design Group
Healthy Planning and Regeneration: innovations in community engagement, policy and monitoringUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2017Helen Pineo and Building Research Establishment (BRE)
HUDU Planning for Health: Using the planning system to control for hot food takeawaysUKCITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2013NHS London Healthy Urban Development Unit
Inclusive Healthy Places: A Guide to Inclusion & Health in Public Space: Learning Globally to Transform LocallyUSANBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2018Gehl Institute
Mariposa Healthy Living InitiativeUSABLDG & NBHDNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2012Mithun Inc., Denver Housing Authority
Metropolitan Area Transportation Planning for Healthy CommunitiesUSANBHD & CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2012U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Planning, Environment and Federal Highway Administration
NHS Healthy New Towns Principles and GuidanceUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2018NHS England
NSW Healthy Urban Environment ChecklistAustraliaBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistNonePolicy/design measuresNone2009NSW Department of Health
Planning for health and well-being in Wales: A briefing on integrating planning and public health for practitioners working in local planning authorities and health organisations in WalesWalesBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2016Town and Country Planning Association
Planning Healthier Places – Report from the Reuniting Health with Planning ProjectUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2013Town and Country Planning Association
Planning Healthy-weight environmentsUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2014Town and Country Planning Association
Planning Information Sheet: Integrating Health into Comprehensive PlanningUSABLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneNonePolicy/design measuresNone2007Design for Health
Practical Guide for Creating Successful New Communities, Guide 8: Creating Health-Promoting EnvironmentsUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2017Town and Country Planning Association
Practical how-to guide: How to Deliver Healthy BuildingsUKBLDGNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNonen.d.UK Green Building Council
Public Health in Planning: Good Practice GuideUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2015Town and Country Planning Association
Resource Guide for Healthy Community Planning: Framing Questions and Links to DataUSABLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2016Washington American Planning Association
Reuniting Health with Planning – Healthier Homes, Healthier CommunitiesUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2012Town and Country Planning Association
Securing constructive collaboration and consensus for planning healthy developments: A report from the Developers and Wellbeing projectUKBLDG & NBHDNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2018Town and Country Planning Association
Spatial Planning for Health: An evidence resource for planning and designing healthier placesUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2017Public Health England
Steps to Healthy Planning: Proposals for ActionUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYChecklistNonePolicy/design measuresNone2011Spatial Planning and Health Group
The State of the Union: Reuniting Health with PlanningUKBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2019Town and Country Planning Association
Healthy Homes and Neighbourhoods Flow ChartUKBLDGNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresIndicators2016UK Green Building Council
WHO Housing and health guidelinesInternationalBLDGNoneNonePolicy/design measuresNone2018World Health Organization
Policies, regulations and legislation promoting healthy housing: a reviewInternationalBLDGNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2021World Health Organization
Integrating health in urban and territorial planning: A sourcebookInternationalBLDG, NBHD, CITYNoneCase studiesPolicy/design measuresNone2020UN Habitat & World Health Organization