The Built Environment. From Park to Club: Youth, Place & Alcohol

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The Built Environment. From Park to Club: Youth, Place & Alcohol"

Allen Wood
6 years ago
Views:

1 The Built Environment People, Places and Health Sheffield, 19 th September 2016 Tim G Townshend From Park to Club: Youth, Place & Alcohol

2 Aim of today s presentation Overview the impact of the built environment in supporting or inhibiting healthy lifestyle choices Specifically to briefly think about built environment and Mental wellbeing and restoration Physical Activity & Socialisation Food access Clusters of unhealthy shops and services Policy opportunities Conclusions

3 Health, wellbeing and place Barton et al.

4 Contemporary Urban Life Life to day can be stressful and unhealthy! Overcrowding, noise, pollution, sedentary lifestyles, etc.

Mental restoration and wellbeing We know greener environments promote feelings of wellbeing 4 dimensions to this stress reduction/physical activity/socialisation/env.

5 Mental restoration and wellbeing We know greener environments promote feelings of wellbeing 4 dimensions to this stress reduction/physical activity/socialisation/env. quality Mental wellbeing/stress reduction/restoration Ulrich - psychoneuroendocrine processes (1983) Kaplans - Attention Restoration Theory (1995) Etc. The Meadows, Edinburgh

evidence on the benefits of allotment gardening stress reduction communing

6 Therapeutic landscapes - e.g. garden allotments Therapeutic landscape come in many forms Large body of evidence on the benefits of allotment gardening stress reduction communing with nature Socialisation exercise, improved diet etc They are still disappearing and few new ones created (Townshend, 2016)

7 Pushing boundaries of therapeutic design Hogeweyk, Amsterdam dementia friendly design Emphasis on activity and encounter

8 Rethinking - Blue-green Infrastructure (BGI) Evidence water settings may offer perceived psychological benefits of green ones (White et al, 2010; Volker and Kistemann, 2010) Urban blue as good as rural green? Potential for riversides/canals etc e.g. walking for health (WfH) schemes Quayside, Newcastle

Giles-Corti etal 2005 etc) associated greenspace proximity with increased recreational activity

9 More generally BGI and Physical Activity (PA) Studies (early 2000s e.g. Giles-Corti etal 2005 etc) associated greenspace proximity with increased recreational activity More recently contradictory results? Example of where research has used multiple metrics, which has been unhelpful Though clearly they do provide the opportunity to be physically active Parkrun Grand Union Canal, Dublin

Walkable Neighbourhoods More generally - premise for walkable neighbourhoods remains strong (Townshend, 2014) Which aspects might be more influential open to debate Access to shops and services

10 Walkable Neighbourhoods More generally - premise for walkable neighbourhoods remains strong (Townshend, 2014) Which aspects might be more influential open to debate Access to shops and services High residential density Pavements and public transport Help meet minimum guidelines Activity supportive highest levels of activity Adams et al, 2013 Socialisation increased in walkable neighbourhoods

11 Looking at PA and food access Studies are limited But e.g. suggest a link between poor access to PA facilities & poor diet E.g. Newcastle research (Gallo et al, 2015) Urban parks and social equity for younger people Study of two urban parks and their peripheries in disparate neighbourhoods Provision in the park poorer in poorer neighbourhood PLUS surrounding food environment much less healthy (i.e. supporting a deprivation amplification hypothesis)

12 Neighbourhoods and Fast Food Food environment influences individual food choice (Charreire et al., 2010; Caspi et al., 2012) There is evidence that fast food availability and consumption are linked (Caspi et al., 2012). Recent studies have found links between fast food outlet density and weight in older children/adolescents (Cetateanu & Jones, 2014)

13 Unhealthy Clusters, or Toxic High Streets Many traditional shopping streets particularly in poorer areas have become a toxic mix of Fast food plus Betting shops Money lenders (NB this list could be extended to consider cheap alcohol suppliers, tanning salons etc) Access and Availability are generally related to consumption and thereby to health issues though the mechanisms are complex (Townshend, 2016)

14 L.B. Harringay Implications are under-researched

15 Before we leave food environments There are opportunities within the built environment to reconnect people with food in a positive way Incredible Edible Todmorden

16 Emergent issues in research Multiple Environments Both PA and food env. research Combined exposure is important but more influential with some groups than others (e.g. Burgoine, et al 2016) Importance of journeys particularly active travel to school (e.g. Cooper, 2012) Home Work Play

17 Can we learn from other cultures? Looking at the intensive use of public space by older persons in China

18 Policy Implications for built env. Positively National Planning Policy Framework does mention health! There are existing mechanisms to integrate health concerns into urban planning particularly impact assessment Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Though not statutory Health Impact Assessments (HIA) Planning policies to address particular issues e.g. fast food proliferation (mixed success but improving picture?)

19 Conclusions WE do know what creates a supportive healthy built environment - Creating green, walkable environments (while restricting unhealthy clusters) would seem to be common sense Yet on the ground trends would appear to be accelerating in the opposite direction Evidence base linking built environment is far from perfect but there is arguably enough It won t be easy to change deeply entrenched positions there is huge inertia in the system but there is also huge opportunity for health and built environment professionals to work together to try and create healthier places

20 References Bauman, A., et al., (1999) Geographical influences upon physical activity participation: evidence of a coastal effect, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Burgoine T, Forouhi NG, Griffin SJ, Brage S, Wareham NJ and Monsivais P. Does neighborhood fast-food outlet exposure amplify inequalities in diet and obesity? A cross-sectional study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Cetateanu A and Jones A. Understanding the relationship between food environments, deprivation and childhood overweight and obesity: Evidence from a cross sectional Englandwide study. Health and Place. 2014; 27: Cooper AR, Jago R, Southward EF and Page AS. Active travel adn physical activity across the school transition: The PEACH project. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2012; 44: Halonen, J.L., (2013) Green and Blue Areas as Predictors of Overweight and Obesity in an 8-Year Follow Study, Obesity, 22 (8) Hartig et al (2014) Nature and health, Annual Review of Public Health, Kaplan, S. (1995) 'THE RESTORATIVE BENEFITS OF NATURE - TOWARD AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK', Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), pp Korpela, K.M., et al., (2010) Favorite green, waterside and urban environments, restorative and perceived health in Finland, Health Promotion International 25 (2) Townshend T.G. (2014) Walkable Neighbourhoods: principles, measures and health impacts, in Burton E., & Cooper, R Well-being and the Environment, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell. Gallo, R., Townshend, T.G. & Lake A.A. (2014) Exploring urban parks and their peripheral food environments using a case study approach, Urban Design International doi.udi Giles-Corti B, Broomhall MH, Knuiman M, et al. Increasing walking: How important is distance to, attractiveness and size of public open space? American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2005; 28: Townshend, T.G. (2016) My Haven, My Sanctuary in Babalis D ed.) Approaching the Integrative City, Altralinea, Firenze. Townshend, T.G. (2016) Toxic High Streets, Journal of Urban Design: DOI: / Ulrich, R.S. (1983) 'Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment', in Altman, I. and Wohwill, J.F. (eds.) Behavior and the Natural Environment New York: Plenum Press, pp Volker, S., & Kristemann, T., (2011) The impact of blue space on human health and well-being Salutogenic health effects of inland surface waters. A review, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 214(6): White, M.P., et al., (2010) Blue space: The importance of water for preference, affect, and restorativeness ratings of natural and built scenes Journal of Environmental Psychology 30: White, M.P., et al., (2013) Coastal proximity and health: a fixed effects analysis of longitudinal panel data, Health and Place 23,

21 Thank you!

Summary Report: Built Environment, Health and Obesity

Research and education Built Environment Edmonton Project Summary Report: Built Environment, Health and Obesity Introduction In 2007 the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke