Built environment stakeholders’ experiences of implementing healthy urban development: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT

Healthy urban development, in the form of buildings and infrastructure, is necessary to reduce disease and injury internationally. The urban development process is complex, characterised by a plurality of actors, decisions, delays, and competing priorities that affect the integration of health and wellbeing. Despite clear shifts in the built environment sector towards considering health, there is a lack of research about how the principles of healthy design are put into practice in development projects. We explored this topic via semi-structured interviews with 31 built environment and public health professionals involved in such projects in Australia, China, England, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States. We used thematic analysis and three themes emerged from our hybrid deductive and inductive approach, encompassing challenges and potential solutions for integrating health in development. Managing risk, responsibility and economic constraints were paramount to persuade developers to adopt healthy design measures. Participants could push business-as-usual practices towards healthy urbanism by showing economic benefits or piloting new approaches. Finally, participants had contrasting views on whether increasing professional knowledge is required, with several arguing that financial barriers are more problematic than knowledge gaps. This exploratory study contributes insights into an under-research topic and outlines priorities for further investigation.

KEYWORDS:

• Design
• development
• health and wellbeing
• planning

This article is related to:

Research for city practice

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank interview participants for their valuable time and knowledge. We thank Yuhong Wang for reviewing Chinese literature.

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data are not available.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by funding from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity and the Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health project (Wellcome Trust grant 209387/Z/17/Z).

Notes on contributors

Helen Pineo

Helen Pineo is a Lecturer in Sustainable & Healthy Built Environments in the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London (UCL). Prior to 2018 she was a practicing urban planner (MRTPI) integrating health and sustainability into new developments and planning policy, in the UK and internationally. Her research and practice has focused on the topics of sustainable urbanisation, health, equity and climate change.

Gemma Moore

Gemma Moore is an environmental geographer, her research interests focus upon knowledge production, participation, community engagement and social sustainability, particularly understanding the relationships between people, their local environment and decision-making processes. She completed her PhD at the UCL: she used an action research approach to examine participatory processes in regeneration projects, to build ‘sustainable urban communities’. She has significant experience of working on activities that bridge research, evaluation and community engagement.