Since launching Build for Health a year ago , I’ve been impressed with the quantity and quality of practitioners from across the built environment and health sectors that are actively exploring links between our built environment and our individual and collective health. Our first workshop in July demonstrated the breadth and depth of experience that these people bring to the challenge of building for health, and their commitment  to seeing ideas made manifest.   It's been

News about data centres seems to be everywhere in recent weeks and months, reflecting a spectrum of views ranging from their absolute necessity as critical infrastructure to their inherent threats to our environment and wellbeing .     There are   approximately 500 data centres in the UK , with growth projected at 20% over the next five years , driven by AI and cloud computing.   The Times reported last weekend that nearly 100 centres are currently going through planni

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

Following the government’s cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, the new Housing minister, Steve Read, issued a “call to arms” to “build...

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...

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...

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...

Always on the lookout for redevelopment projects that align housing and placemaking with improving health outcomes, I was intrigued to...

On a beautiful summer evening last Tuesday, fifty-odd leaders and practitioners from the built environment, health provision, public...

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...

The push for economic growth continues to dominate government policy across multiple agendas, including climate and housing, and local...

Earlier this year, before its demise , NHS England published   Neighbourhood Health Guidelines , which stated   “there is an urgent need...

Martin Prince-Parrott, the author of recently published Urban Healthonomics, is a man on a mission. He’s also a walking contradiction....

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...

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”  ...

Does objecting to a new housing development in your local community, on the basis that no provision is made for new or expanded GP...

There’s an area in the northeast of England where planners, health providers, arts organisations and local government are collaborating...

With a new year comes a media spotlight on self-improvement, “healthy ageing” and “longevity” feature highly in both social and...

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

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...