A working paper, 'Broadening the scope of inquiry: including an urban and habitat planning perspective in strategies for better health', was produced for the OxHA Annual Summit in 2006.
The paper was prepared by Steve Leeder, Michael Ward and David Wilmoth, and is designed to serve as a base for discussion around the issues. It recognises that one size for urban and habitat planning does not fit all, and that ideas and hopes need to be flexible to fit different settings.
A short summary of the paper is below, and the complete pdf can be downloaded here >>
We would welcome your comments on the paper - please send them to Katy Cooper (katy.cooper@oxha.org).
Summary of the working paper
Where we live has such a profound influence on our well-being that we accept as self-evident that we need to attend to housing, neighbourhood and city design if we are serious about preserving and promoting health. But, paradoxically, it is very hard to move beyond the obvious relation between habitat and health to find the critical elements in our immediate environment that we need to reinforce to achieve better health. There is little solid evidence linking urban design to, for example, obesity: at times, people in unpropitious settings surprise us with their physical activity and their perseverance in maintaining good nutrition, while others in splendid suburbs are sedentary and over-eat. Further, human habitat is incredibly varied and hence no one size fits all when it comes to planning for health.
Although these complexities are daunting, several principles emerge that have broad applicability and common value. The environments that are most conducive to health are those that:
- provide uncrowded secure shelter;
- maximise physical activity among the otherwise-sedentary and reduce labour among the malnourished;
- allow access to healthy food and protect the local population from road trauma and natural hazards; and
- enable access to health services.
Such environments are often created in the shadows of official urban plans rather than as a result of them. This paper explores what practical steps OxHA might take in assisting with urban and habitat design to enshrine these qualities. It is meant as a discussion paper, to provoke thought, raise agreement and disagreement, and to serve as a base for in-depth reflection at the Cape Town Summit.