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Place-based health indexes: an essential resource in building for health
One of the reasons for launching Build for Health earlier this year and holding its first workshop in July was to work with a collective of built environment practitioners to forge consensus on practice in developing places that support good health. During this workshop and through our LinkedIn group we’ve shared and explored frameworks , tools , data , and design codes that have been developed to support practitioners in building for health. Implementation ha
Oct 175 min read


New housing, no infrastructure
Following the government’s cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, the new Housing minister, Steve Read, issued a “call to arms” to “build...
Sep 275 min read


Building for Health on the Aylesbury Estate
The Aylesbury estate is in the London Borough of Southwark. It was built between 1963 and 1977, and is one of the largest public housing...
Sep 55 min read


Hot Town, Summer in the City
It’s been a hot summer across Europe and much of North America, and this has generated lots of discussion about the impact of heat on our...
Aug 306 min read


Civic Life, Public Health - why loos are essential to our cities
Last week the BBC reported from Bath that a lack of public toilets in the city has left elderly people in tears and pushed customers...
Aug 62 min read


Springfield Village – How to Build for Health
Always on the lookout for redevelopment projects that align housing and placemaking with improving health outcomes, I was intrigued to...
Jul 285 min read


Build for Health – our first workshop
On a beautiful summer evening last Tuesday, fifty-odd leaders and practitioners from the built environment, health provision, public...
Jul 144 min read


Tech, tools and developing healthy places
At a time of change and uncertainty in housing, planning and health policy, robust data gives us the anchor we need to understand what is...
Jun 206 min read


What does inclusive growth look like? touring Barking & Dagenham with Darren Rodwell
The push for economic growth continues to dominate government policy across multiple agendas, including climate and housing, and local...
May 2217 min read


Building healthy places through community-led health coaching
Earlier this year, before its demise , NHS England published Neighbourhood Health Guidelines , which stated “there is an urgent need...
Apr 229 min read


Urban Healthonomics – back to the future of healthy, sustainable and prosperous cities
Martin Prince-Parrott, the author of recently published Urban Healthonomics, is a man on a mission. He’s also a walking contradiction....
Apr 96 min read


Embedding health into local planning – it’s all about the data
Last October, before the government’s autumn budget, I wrote a blog making a case that the UK is at an inflection point in housing and...
Mar 217 min read


Community-led campaigns are needed now more than ever
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” ...
Mar 135 min read


Is there a doctor in the house?
Does objecting to a new housing development in your local community, on the basis that no provision is made for new or expanded GP...
Feb 195 min read


Healthy Happy Places – a collaborative initiative in the Northeast of England
There’s an area in the northeast of England where planners, health providers, arts organisations and local government are collaborating...
Feb 57 min read


Building an environment to age well in
With a new year comes a media spotlight on self-improvement, “healthy ageing” and “longevity” feature highly in both social and...
Jan 254 min read


Build for Health
Happy new year! Here’s hoping that sincere wishes for happiness and prosperity in 2025 are met with acknowledgment of some significant...
Jan 105 min read


Building Health Equity – the Role of the Property Sector in Improving Health
It wasn’t long ago that these words would look out of place in the same sentence. Why should property developers care about health, or...
Dec 17, 20243 min read


World Toilet Day: Launching the London Loo Alliance
On Tuesday this week, World Toilet Day was celebrated across the world – laugh if you want, but it’s a long-established event led by...
Nov 21, 20243 min read


Connecting the arts to local health
Since my return last month from Uganda and my blog about how participation in music making has impacted the health of local communities...
Nov 12, 202410 min read
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