 |
What have we discovered about this theme? |
General Findings
Preserving a healthy community is not the responsibility of only the national health service. Tackling health improvement and health inequality issues requires a joined-up approach from public agencies, as well as raised awareness and greater personal responsibility. The skills of the voluntary sector and community organisations can also be tapped to great benefit.
Public health and community well-being is affected by matters such as job opportunities, the quality of the environment in which we live, how we choose to interact with that environment and how we choose to interact with each other (see ‘Jobs and Employment‘, ‘Environmental Quality’ and ‘Transport and Infrastructure’ components).
Although public health was the foundation of modern planning as a profession, this aspect is often lost under development pressure. It is important for health issues related to development and small town life to be fully understood by local practitioners. It is an aspect of planning and design that can easily and effectively be included within new or existing development (see ‘Long Term Planning’ component).
Essential Aspects
A growing issue throughout the globe is the impact of our built environment and our lifestyle choices on increasing levels of obesity (see ‘Housing’ component). This is most often attributed to a high level of car dependency and the growing issue of urban sprawl even in small towns and rural areas (see ‘Transport and Infrastructure’ component). Reliance on the car for transport not only reduces the amount of physical activity that people take part in every day, it also reduces the amount of social interaction that takes place between residents (see ‘Equal Opportunity and Inclusion’ component). This then impacts upon the physical and mental health of individual residents as well as the wellbeing of the community as a whole. Issues of transport and sprawl can be addressed. New transport infrastructure or housing expansion should also include integrated pedestrian and cycle paths (see ‘Networks and Connections’ component). Health services should be upgraded as appropriate to meet the needs of population growth (see ‘Community Safety and Facilities’ component).
Any new physical development within the town should be supported by educational, social and community initiatives that encourage a healthy lifestyle and community.
 |
|
|
