Date/Time
Date(s) - August 21, 2018
10:00 am - 11:30 am
Join our partners from the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health for this 90-minute webinar that explores new research into the role of the built environment in community health.
Webinar: The Healthy Built Environment Linkages Toolkit: How can community planning and design make us healthier?
Tuesday, August 21 2018 10:00–11:30 a.m. PST
Register here.
Human health is significantly influenced by the design of our communities. On a population health level, we are much more likely to achieve optimal health if our homes, transportation systems and public spaces are designed to help us interact with our neighbours, be close to nature, eat well and be physically active.
Partnering with local governments is a powerful public health strategy to encourage healthy living and prevent chronic disease. To support the integration of health priorities within community planning and design, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control has released the Healthy Built Environment Linkages Toolkit (2018), an update of its 2014 publication of the same title. Since its original release in 2014, the HBE Linkages Toolkit has rapidly been adopted by health professionals and others who collaborate with local governments for credible health research and key messages. The full report and two-page summary can be found on the BCCDC website.
In this webinar, we will review new research content in the HBE Linkages Toolkit related to social well-being, economic co-benefits and small/medium-sized community contexts. We will also describe potential ways to use this resource and next steps for its continued development. In addition, we will draw on practice examples informed by the HBE Linkages Toolkit, such as the development of the Official Community Plan for the City of Abbotsford, which included health and well-being metrics to help evaluate the performance of different planning strategies.
Based on comprehensive literature reviews and weighted assessment criteria, the HBE Linkages Toolkit considers health evidence related to neighbourhood design, transportation systems, food systems, natural environments and housing. It also offers a synthesis of research findings, which link planning principles to specific health outcomes.
