Healthy Built Environments / PlanH Victoria Barr, PhD Program Manager, BC Healthy Communities

What is the Built Environment? The Built Environment means the human-made surroundings in which people live, work, learn and play. These places and spaces include our homes, communities, schools, workplaces, parks/recreation areas, business areas and transportation systems, and vary in size from large-scale urban areas to smaller rural developments. It extends overhead in the form of electric transmission lines, underground in the form of waste disposal sites, water systems, subway trains, and across the country in the form of highways. How that built environment is planned, designed, organized and maintained is vital for our communities’ health and well-being, both in urban and rural areas.

Aspects of the Built Environment Green space Public spaces Amenities Landscaping Buildings Safety Streets, roads, & highways Sidewalks Bicycle and walking paths There are many features of the built environment that have been shown to connect with public and population health. Those features include: Land use: Green space (playgrounds, gardens) Public spaces (meeting places, gathering spots) Amenities (street furniture, outdoor dining areas, public restrooms) Landscaping (trees, lighting) Buildings (height, number, appearance) Safety (lighting, sight lines) Transportation: Streets, roads, and highways (design, pattern, traffic calming measures) Sidewalks (location, width, connectivity) Bicycle and walking paths (Active Transportation) How we design and create our built environments has significant implications for health and other aspects of human development. The features of the built environment influence our health by interacting with the other determinants of health, including social networks and access to important resources that we all need to access every day.

How our communities are designed can affect: Traffic safety and injury prevention Neighbourhood walkability Access to public transit Mental health affects of noise Air and water quality Access to healthy foods Social inclusion Disability access Access to affordable and safe housing There are many features of the built environment that have been shown to connect with public and population health. Those features include: Land use: Green space (playgrounds, gardens) Public spaces (meeting places, gathering spots) Amenities (street furniture, outdoor dining areas, public restrooms) Landscaping (trees, lighting) Buildings (height, number, appearance) Safety (lighting, sight lines) Transportation: Streets, roads, and highways (design, pattern, traffic calming measures) Sidewalks (location, width, connectivity) Bicycle and walking paths (Active Transportation) How we design and create our built environments has significant implications for health and other aspects of human development. The features of the built environment influence our health by interacting with the other determinants of health, including social networks and access to important resources that we all need to access every day.

Health outcomes associated with our built environments Social Cohesion Body Mass Index Obesity Diet related Illness Stress Autoimmune Disease Attention Deficit Disorder Depression Injuries Unintentional Injuries Premature Mortality Food Security Quality of Life Mental Health Respiratory Health Reproductive Health Birth Outcomes Over the last 10 to 15 years, researchers have been busy trying to understand in what ways our built environments affect health. This list presents just a few of the ways in which health is affected by the characteristics of our built environments. Much of the research in this area has so far centered on urban areas, but the research in smaller cities, urban areas and suburban neighbourhoods is definitely catching up!

Key Elements of HBE Work

Courtesy Geoff Peters The PlanH Program Partnership with HFBC an initiative of the MoH Objectives of LEARN, CONNECT and INNOVATE What do we offer? - website, workshops, webinars, funding, community stories PlanH supports local government engagement and partnerships across sectors for creating healthier communities, and provides learning opportunities, resources, and leading-edge practices for collaborative local action. www.planh.ca

Courtesy Gord McKenna Partnership Partnership with HFBC, thanks them for making day possible. Objectives of LEARN, CONNECT and INNOVATE What do we offer? website, workshops, webinars, funding, community stories PlanH is a partnership between BC Healthy Communities Society and Healthy Families BC.

BC Healthy Communities Society Introduce ourselves Introduce BCHC: Part of the international healthy communities / healthy cities movement of the WHO. Provides a range of services, programs and resources to support communities, local governments and multi-sectoral groups to collaborate around a shared goal of creating healthier communities. BC Healthy Communities Society provides services, programs, and resources to support multi-sectoral collaboration & engagement for creating healthy and resilient communities. BCHC is a province-wide, not-for-profit organization.

How is PlanH fostering learning, collaboration and innovation with local governments, health authorities and community partners to achieve healthy community outcomes?

The Opportunity Local governments are uniquely placed to provide leadership for health. Many social determinants of health operate at the local and community level. Municipalities have the capacity to influence the determinants of health and inequities – “the causes of the causes”. - Tsouros, Agis. “City Leadership for Health and Well-Being: Back to the Future.” Journal of Urban Health (2013) Most of us have heard that we need to ‘eat less and move more’ in order to be healthy. Health behaviours are often framed as choices. But, the choices we make are shaped by the choices we have. Complex, deeply rooted in society Influenced by many policies and conditions federally, provincially, and locally.

Healthy People What do we mean by “Healthy communities”? Local conditions support healthy behaviours and choices where people live, work, learn, and play.

Healthy Society What do we mean by “Healthy communities”? Vibrant places and spaces cultivate belonging, inclusion, connectedness, and engagement.

Healthy Environments What do we mean by “Healthy communities”? Courtesy Rick Chung www.rickchung.com Healthy Environments Well-planned built environments and sustainable natural environments support all citizens to thrive, now and in the future. Ladner Village Market

What do we mean by “Healthy communities”? What is comes to mind when you think of unhealthy communities? Talk about how healthy communities is an approach and way of thinking as much as it is these tangible things. It involves learning, engagement, collaboration and working with the whole person (physical, mental and spiritual health) in the whole community (tangible things like parks and recreation, built environment, and the natural environment, but also the culture of the community, the values and the social networks.

Action Guides What next? Phase 2 – 1st 4 year action plan – June 23rd 2015 18-20 priority actions, city-led and non-city led, implementation, monitoring plan HCFA LT still in play, HCSTT may change to HCS integrated implementation team HCFA dashboard – for all to engage with

Webinars What next? Phase 2 – 1st 4 year action plan – June 23rd 2015 18-20 priority actions, city-led and non-city led, implementation, monitoring plan HCFA LT still in play, HCSTT may change to HCS integrated implementation team HCFA dashboard – for all to engage with

PlanH Workshops Support for partnership development, leadership development and deeper learning to identify root causes and collaborative solutions. What next? Phase 2 – 1st 4 year action plan – June 23rd 2015 18-20 priority actions, city-led and non-city led, implementation, monitoring plan HCFA LT still in play, HCSTT may change to HCS integrated implementation team HCFA dashboard – for all to engage with

Partnership Events Five Regional Forums: Facilitation provided on behalf of the PlanH program by BCHC What next? Phase 2 – 1st 4 year action plan – June 23rd 2015 18-20 priority actions, city-led and non-city led, implementation, monitoring plan HCFA LT still in play, HCSTT may change to HCS integrated implementation team HCFA dashboard – for all to engage with

Facilitated Collaborative Processes Structured processes for collaboration (e.g. collective impact tables) Community coaching Shift from ‘episodic learning’ to collective learning that continues beyond a learning event. What next? Phase 2 – 1st 4 year action plan – June 23rd 2015 18-20 priority actions, city-led and non-city led, implementation, monitoring plan HCFA LT still in play, HCSTT may change to HCS integrated implementation team HCFA dashboard – for all to engage with

Equity in Planning Workshop series delivered in partnership with CRD, BCHC, Island Health, & other community partners: Equity Tools & Resources

May 2015: Equity in Planning Understanding what equity is & how it differs from equality How principles of equity can be applied in planning practices How to advance equity work in the capital region

May 2017: Healthy Built Environments for ALL Applying an equity lens to the built environment It may be healthy for some, but is it healthy for ALL? Consideration of diversity & inclusion

June 2017: Equity Tools & Resources Using metaphors to convey health equity messages Importance of using different tools for different contexts Review of a few specific health equity tools available to apply in different contexts

What’s Next? Workshop participants expressed interest in: Future workshops to advance their learning Future workshops for local leaders (elected officials) Future workshops on how to use specific health equity tools Future workshops that offer case studies & successful examples of equity in practice

Thank you! Victoria Barr| victoria@bchealthycommunites.ca www.planh.ca | www.bchealthycommunities.ca