New research centre for healthy cities
New South Wales (NSW) health officials have launched a new initiative with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) planning experts to investigate relationships between health and the built environment.
The UNSW City Futures Research Centre has won $1.5 million in funding from the NSW Health Department to set up the NSW Healthy Built Environments Program (HBEP), the first such collaboration between health officials and planning academics.
As Australia faces increasing health costs from an ageing population and rising rates of obesity, diabetes and lifestyle diseases, health workers are seeking to influence the design of cities to make them more supportive of healthy ways of living.
Urban planners from the City Futures Research Centre will undertake a wide-ranging investigation to learn how changes to urban design and planning can improve health in NSW.
