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The Healthy Built Environments Program (HBEP) is an exciting initiative that brings the built environment and health together. The HBEP, which was funded by the NSW Ministry of Health from 2010-2014, is situated within the City Futures Research Centre in the UNSW BE. As Australia faces increasing health costs from rising rates of obesity, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases, health and built environment professionals are seeking to influence the design of cities to make them more supportive of healthy ways of living. Recent research has demonstrated links between modern epidemics and the way of life in cities. Car-dominated transport, reduced opportunities for exercise, increased fast food availability and lack of social connection are all implicated. Increasingly the health sector is focusing on prevention and to be effective, health professionals need to work in collaboration with other professional groups, such as those from the built environment.
The HBEP aims to revitalise the relationship between the built environment and health professions so that together we can create built environments that support people being healthy in their everyday lives.
Click on the links below to view our posters on the HBEP, displayed at LuminoCity in 2012.
The Healthy Built Environments Program (HBEP): An Overview
The Healthy Built Environments Program in Action
HBEP Vision
The Healthy Built Environments Program vision is that built environments will be planned, designed, developed and managed to promote and protect health for all people.
HBEP Focus Areas
The HBEP has three main areas of focus:
- Research – the HBEP fosters interdisciplinary research which is policy relevant. A major scholarly literature review has been completed which identifies gaps in current knowledge. A research strategy to prioritise key research questions has been developed.
- Education and Workforce Development – the HBEP delivers innovative, cross disciplinary education and capacity building. Workshops, seminars and interactive forums are delivered to health and built environment professionals in NSW. E-learning modules are provided. Educational approaches also build on the Faculty of the Built Environment's ‘Healthy Planning’ and 'Healthy Built Environments' courses. Postgraduate research students are engaged in significant healthy built environment projects.
- Leadership and Advocacy – the HBEP advocates for closer links between health and the built environment. This involves government and non-government agencies, the private sector and the community. There has been an emphasis on education through scholarly publications disseminating the latest research, popular media articles, talks and events.
HBEP Evaluation
In late 2013 through to 2014, the HBEP underwent an extensive evaluation. Documentation, including a ‘Key Achievements’ report and summary of capacity building evaluations, was prepared by the HBEP. A portfolio showcasing the Program’s body of work was also submitted for assessment. In-depth interviews with key stakeholders were undertaken by NSW Health staff as part of the evaluation. In addition, a site visit to the HBEP by independent reviewers was conducted. The Ministry of Health released its HBEP Evaluation Report in September 2014. The findings are overwhelmingly positive – the HBEP has been an effective force for advancing healthy built environments in NSW. Read the Evaluation Report here .
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The activities and achievements of the HBEP are published in the City Futures Research Centre Annual Report. Please click here to access these reports. HBEP Annual Reports from 2010-2014 are provided below.
HBEP Achievements 2010-2014
HBEP is proud to present its key achievements for 2010 to 2014. Read about our different activities in research, education and leadership. You can access papers and resources from these documents too.
Please click here to view the Achievements Report as a flipbook. Click here to view or download a PDF version of the Report.HBEP Annual Reports 2010-2013
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News items about the HBEP are published in the City Futures Research Centre quarterly newsletter. To access these newsletters, please click here. HBEP newsletters from 2010-2014 are provided below.
Newsletter Edition 15 Autumn 2014
Newsletter Edition 14 Summer 2014
Newsletter Edition 13 Spring 2013
Newsletter Edition 12 Winter 2013
Newsletter Edition 11 Autumn 2013
Newsletter Edition 10 December 2012
Newsletter Edition 9 September / October 2012
Newsletter Edition 8 June/July 2012
Newsletter Edition 7 March/April 2012
Newsletter Edition 6 December 2011
Newsletter Edition 5 September 2011
Newsletter Edition 4 June 2011
Newsletter Edition 3 March 2011
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Healthy Built Environment Activities in NSW: A Status Review 2013
The HBEP recently completed a major research project to ‘map’ activities currently delivered in NSW to support healthy built environments (HBEs). Initiated in late 2012, the project included an on-line survey, collating responses from 46 organisations active in the promotion of HBEs around NSW. The results of the research have been collated in a report which can be accessed here.
Research Strategy 2012-2014
The Healthy Built Environment Program has prepared a Research Strategy to provide direction for policy relevant research in healthy built environments. It has three main objectives:
- To identify current gaps in policy relevant research on healthy built environments.
- To prioritise research projects that will build the evidence base for policy to implement healthy built environments in NSW.
- To utilise synergies amongst HBEP stakeholders to enhance the identification of research opportunities to undertake priority projects.
Click here to access the Research Strategy. Click here to access the Research Implementation Strategy.
Think Tank Report 2011
The Healthy Built Environments Program held an ‘End of Year Strategy Think Tank’ on 16 December 2011. The Think Tank focused on the following three broad issues:
1. Research - Ideas for collaborative healthy built environment research projects.
2. Engagement – Outreach and advocacy to engage professionals in healthy built environments, especially those perceived to be ‘disengaged’ or not well informed.
3. Communication – Ideas to communicate the healthy built environments message to the broader community including the media, political decision makers and community members.
HBEP consortium partners and friends attended and made great contributions to the issues for discussion. Click here to access the Think Tank Report.
Listening Tour Report 2010
From August to December 2010 the HBEP visited all (former) Area Health Services across NSW. The focus of this tour was to talk with health staff about their involvement in healthy urban planning, their capacity building needs in this area, and how the Healthy Built Environments Program can potentially assist.
Please click here to view the HBEP's Listening Tour Report.Stakeholder Consultation Research 2011
One of the aims of the HBEP is to determine current gaps in research and policy to bring about built environments that support health as part of everyday living. We have conducted research with key stakeholders to determine these gaps. This research has informed the HBEP Research Strategy. We completed a research report 'Stakeholder Consultation Report'. Click here for the Report. We also conducted a workshop as part of this research. Click here to access the Stakeholder Workshop Report.
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Staff of the Healthy Built Environments Program regularly present at different conferences, seminars and forums.
Inaugural Professorial Lecture
City Wellbeing Director, Susan Thompson, recently presented her inaugural professorial lecture at UNSW. You can listen to the lecture entitled Making Places for People: Planning to support health and well-being and view the PowerPoint slides.
Obesity Australia Summit
On 28-29 November 2013, the 2nd annual National Obesity Australia Summit was held in Canberra. The theme of the Summit was ‘Obesity: Understanding and Action’. HBEP Director Susan Thompson was invited to present on ‘Creating Healthy Built Environments’. Click here for the Summit program and here for Susan’s presentation.
Secured by Automobility Seminar
On 11 September 2013, HBEP Research Associate Jennifer Kent presented a seminar on her PhD research entitled Secured by Automobility, why does the private car continue to dominate transport practices? The seminar received overwhelming support from both within and outside the Faculty, attracting over 30 attendees representing the Faculty as well as Transport for NSW, local government and cycling advocacy groups. The presentation was both videoed and sound recorded. The video recording can be accessed here.
Working Across Disciplines to Address Complex Problems
On 23 August, HBEP Director Susan Thompson had the pleasure of speaking to the Water Services Association of Australia’s (WSAA) Adaptive Planning and Integrated Water Management Network. The topic of Susan’s presentation was Planning, Health and the Environment: Working across disciplines, breaking down professional silos . Click here to access Susan’s talk.
Presentation at the 6th Liveable Cities Conference
The 6th Making Cities Liveable Conference was held in conjunction with the Sustainability Conference entitled ‘Sustainable Transformation’ in Melbourne from 17 – 19 June 2013. Bringing environmental sustainability and healthy cities work together was an important recognition of the growing synergies between these two areas. HBEP Director Susan Thompson and Ms Claudine Lyons from the Ministry of Health jointly presented on the achievements and challenges of the HBEP. The presentation entitled: ‘The Healthy Built Environments Program: Working together to break down health and planning silos’ can be viewed here.
Presentation at Planning Institute of Australia National Congress
In March 2013, HBEP Casual Research Assistant Andrew Wheeler attended and presented a paper at the PIA 2013 National Congress in Canberra. Andrew’s paper was entitled ‘Policy prescriptions for healthy cities: how do Australian metropolitan strategies compare?’. Andrew presented in a session on ‘Healthy Spaces and Population Health’, alongside speakers from the National Heart Foundation, local government and the private sector. The presentation showcased the findings of Andrew's award-winning undergraduate thesis, which was supervised by HBEP Director Susan Thompson. You can view the presentation here.
Presentation at the 7th Australasian Housing Researchers Conference
The 7th Australasian Housing Researchers Conference was held in Fremantle, Western Australia from 6-8 February 2013. The overarching theme of the conference was 'Housing the Needs of Diverse Populations'. HBEP Research Officer Emily Mitchell gave a presentation entitled 'The Healthy Neighbourhood Audit Instrument: Understanding the Environmental and Socio-Cultural Conditions to Support Healthy, Happy and Resilient Residential Communities'. This presentation provided an overview of how the audit instrument was developed, and how it has been applied in the field for the HBEP ARC Linkage funded project Planning and Building Healthy Communities. You can view the presentation here.
Cycling for Women Advocacy Talk
On 2 February 2013, Jennifer Kent represented the HBEP to address a women-specific workshop on cycling. The workshop was hosted by Bicycle NSW as part of their ‘Gear Up Girl’ program. Although there has been a recent surge in the uptake of cycling across many demographic segments of society, women are still under-represented in cycling statistics, particularly cycling for transport. Gear Up Girl is an initiative that provides opportunities for women to experience the pleasure of riding a bike, culminating each year with a mass participation ride from Cronulla to Sydney Olympic Park. This year, the ride was preceded by a workshop for women to learn basic bike maintenance skills and nutrition, as well as discuss some of the experiences of women on the road. You can view the presentation here.
Heart Foundation’s Annual Solicitors’ Lunch
On 16 August 2012, HBEP Director Susan Thompson gave an invited guest presentation about the relationship between public health and the built environment, the activities of the HBEP and the seminal role of the Heart Foundation in this work. Her talk can be downloaded here: 'Creating Healthy Built Environments: A Heartful Process'
Presentation at the Biennial Conference in Philosophy, Religion and Culture Creation, Nature and the Built Environment
Director Thompson presented a paper on walking entitled On My Walk: An Exploration of People and Environment Connections through the Act of Walking (6.0MB)
Utzon Lecture
Director Thompson and Professor Capon delivered a lecture entitled Healthy Built Environments = Healthy Cities (6.4MB). Click here to view the video.
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The HBEP regularly makes submissions to different inquiries and reviews. Selected HBEP submissions can be found on this page. If you have any questions about our submissions, please contact us.
WestConnex – M4 East
West Connex is a major government roadway infrastructure scheme for Sydney. HBEP has made a submission on the proposal arguing that a health impact assessment (HIA) needs to be undertaken as part of the WestConnex assessment. Read our submission here.
A New Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney
The NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure is developing a new metropolitan strategy for Sydney. The review process started in June 2012 when the Department released a Discussion Paper Sydney over the next 20 years . A Draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney 2031 was subsequently released in March 2013.
Please click here to read the HBEP’s submission on the Discussion paper (June 2012).
Please click here to read the HBEP’s submission on the Draft Strategy (June 2013).
The Review of the NSW Planning System
The NSW Government is undertaking a comprehensive review of the NSW Planning System. Click here for more information. The Review process commenced in July 2011 with extensive consultations across the state. The second phase of the Review focussed on an Issues Paper covering the ideas and feedback received during the initial consultation phase. A Green Paper entitled A New Planning System for NSW was published by the NSW government in July 2012. Access the Green Paper here . In April 2013, the NSW government published the White Paper, also entitled A New Planning System for NSW , and draft planning legislation. Click here to access the White Paper. You can also find information on the Exposure Planning Bill 2013 and Exposure Planning Administration Bill 2013 here .
Please click here to read the HBEP's submission to the first phase of the NSW Planning System Review (November 2011).
Please click here to read the HBEP's submission to the second phase of the NSW Planning System Review (March 2012).
Please click here to read the HBEP's submission on the Green Paper A New Planning System for NSW (September 2012).
Please click here to read the HBEP's submission on the White Paper A New Planning System for NSW (June 2013).
Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney 2036
The NSW Government has released the Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036. This Plan will shape the future growth of Sydney - Australia’s major global city. Click here to read more. The Metropolitan Plan incorporates healthy planning issues in its Strategic Direction H - 'Achieving Equity, Liveability and Social Inclusion'. The HBEP's submission on the Sydney Metropolitan Plan Review advocated for the inclusion of healthy planning principles and initiatives.
Click here to read the HBEP submission to the Metropolitan Strategy (May 2010).
National Urban Policy
In 2011 the Federal Government's Department of Infrastructure and Transport released its National Urban Policy titled Our Cities, Our Future: A National Urban Policy for a Productive, Sustainable and Liveable Future . The Policy includes initiatives that support the development of healthy built environments in Australia’s urban areas.
Click here to read the HBEP submission that was considered in the framing of the National Urban Policy (March 2011).Review of NSW Strata and Community Scheme Laws
The NSW State Government is currently conducting a review of strata and community scheme laws. Click here to read the discussion paper. The HBEP made a submission to this review. Our submission focused on how strata living can enhance individual health while respecting the needs of the broader community in close residential living. We specifically discussed the health benefits of companion animals and the restrictive nature of pet ownership in some strata titled residential developments. Click here to read the HBEP’s submission.
If you are interested in the health benefits of companion animals more broadly, the Petcare Information Advisory Board (PIAS) is a great resource.
Smoke Free UNSW Campus
To reduce the exposure of staff, students, visitors and contractors to environmental tobacco smoke, from July 1st the whole campus of the University of New South Wales will become smoke free. The HBEP has supported this move of the University by a submission (April 2012) which can be found here .
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