1. THE ADDED VALUE OF
EVIDENCED BASED GUIDANCE
IN URBAN DESIGN PRACTICES
Jo Appleby Heart Foundation
2. 2
Help all Australians to have environments that support
healthy choices and promote heart health.
• A healthier food supply
• More active living
• A smoke-free Australia
GOAL 1:
Healthy Hearts
3. A Cross-Sector Issue
Co-benefits of investing in healthy built environments
• Public health benefits
– Reduced heart disease
– Reduced type 2 diabetes
– Reduced obesity
– Improvements in other risk factors
• Reduced traffic congestion
• Reduced air pollution
• Climate change, sustainability and reduced fossil fuel
dependence
• Safer streets and more convivial neighborhoods
• Vibrant communities
• Fitness for work, productivity
(Giles Corti B., Foster S., Shilton TR & Falconer R.
The co-benefits of investing in active transportation.
NSW Public Health Bulletin. July 2010)
5. Collaborative Project
Coordinated by:
National Heart Foundation
In collaboration with:
Department of Planning
Department of Transport
Department of Sport and Recreation
Department of Health
Planning Institute of Australia
Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority
Landcorp
Commissioned partners:
HASSELL
CBEH
Aurecon
3 Phase Project – Commenced 2009
6. The Evidence – Western
Australia
• 40% of WA adults
insufficiently active
• By 2061 WA’s population is
expected to reach 7.7 million,
• By 2020, an additional 1
million motorised vehicles are
predicted to be on Perth roads
• Perth is the second most
congested city in Australia
• Perth's urban sprawl has
overtaken Los Angeles and
Tokyo
• Rapid growth demonstrated in
regional areas
• Rapid population growth must
be underpinned by sufficient
community infrastructure
7. Audience
Primary audience
• Planners (Land Use and Transport)
• Local Government (Planning and Transportation)
• Developers
Secondary audience
• Those who work with planners (and the built
environment)
– Sport and recreation workers
– Transport
– Health promotion
– Parks and gardens
– Local Government officials
– Education
9. End User Consultation
• Metro Workshops
• Regional Workshops
• Online surveys
• Conferences
• Master Class
• End-user web testing
• Local Government testing
• All with the primary end
user in mind
10.
11. HABD Tool
Selected Design Features
– Mixed-use
– Movement Network
– Schools
– Sense of Place
– Shared Facilities
– Buildings
– Town centre/Main Street
– Public Open Space
– Housing Diversity
** The Food environment to be integrated
throughout all design features
12. Mixed-use
The creation of compact mixed-
use neighbourhoods with a
diverse mix of employment,
education, retail, fresh and
healthy food outlets and
recreation land uses and
destinations integrated with
public transport and within
close proximity of a variety of
residential dwelling types
allows residents to undertake and fulfil a
variety of daily activities and needs (i.e.,
live, work, play) in their neighbourhood
and encourages active and sustainable
modes of transport.
13. Movement Network
Provide accessible, safe and
connected movement
networks integrating walking,
cycling and public transport
routes for safe and convenient
travel within and between
neighborhoods and to local
destinations.
Maximizes opportunities to
engage in planned and
incidental physical activity and
encourages the use of public
transport.
14. Town Centres / Main Street
Provide for the diverse daily
needs of a community through
the provision of walkable
neighbourhood and town
centres that act as community
focal points or hubs with a
concentration of co-located
destinations and mixed land
uses that attract people for a
multitude of activities and
fulfil a variety of daily activities
and needs.
. These should be surrounded
by a network of connected
streets, paths and cycle ways,
integrated with public
transport and within close
proximity of a variety of
residential dwelling types.
15. Public Open Space
Provide a well distributed
network of walkable attractive
and public open spaces and
natural areas within the
neighbourhood
Provides for a variety of
recreational, sporting, play and
social needs of the community.
16. Housing Diversity
Provide a range of residential
lot sizes and choice of housing
products and tenures to
facilitate housing diversity and
choice to meet the different
housing needs of the
community.
This includes increased
residential densities in close
proximity to support mixed-
use centres, local employment,
community facilities and public
transport.
17. Sense of Place
Walkable environments are
required to enhance sense of
community and social capital
by encouraging and facilitating
social ties or community
connections through
opportunities for residents to
meet, interact and engage in
their neighbourhood.
Increases the sense of
community or social capital
through the facilitation of
interaction between residents.
18. Shared Facilities
Develop integrated community
facilities and shared use of
sport and recreation facilities
and spaces to enhance
opportunities for sports
participant, physical activity
and enhancement of wellbeing
and community interaction
and cohesion.
19. Schools
Provide schools within
walkable proximity (around
800m) to homes and ensure
that the routes to school are
connected and facilitate
children’s active transport to
school through the provision of
footpaths and cycling
infrastructure and served by
public transport.
Provide sport and play
opportunities for children and
open spaces that are capable
of accommodating a range of
school and community needs,
as well as safe walking and
cycling access.
20. Buildings
Develop buildings and site
designs that specifically
supports increased levels of
physical activity through the
provision of spaces and
facilities that promote
incidental physical activity.
Design to encourage stair use,
active transport (end of trip
facilities), less sitting,
convenient access to public
transport options.
21. Multiple Features
• Evidence summary
• Policy links and priorities
• Best practice WA case studies
• Examples (international and
national)
• Checklist
• Program/resource links
22. EVIDENCE
• What do we mean by….?
• Why is it important
• Summary of evidence
23. • Strong evidence
Supported by a pattern of evidence from at least five
cross-sectional studies plus review-level evidence.
Strength of research allows us to conclude that there
is a relationship and a behavioural outcome.
• Emerging evidence
Design strategies supported by an emerging pattern of
research. Existing studies have given reason to believe
the that the intervention will likely lead to increased
physical activity
• Suggested practices Indicates
strategies without a formal evidence base. However
theory, common understandings of behaviour and
experience from existing practice indicate that these
measures will likely increase physical activity.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed
without evidence.” – Christopher Hitchens.
24. Case Studies
• Introduction
• Location
• Description of project
• Project team
• Project cost
• Values
• Health value
• Economic value
• Environmental value
• Social value
• Use value
26. Examples
Links to local, national and
International projects that
demonstrate the use of one or
more design features.
The links may refer to presentations,
TED talks, strategies, resources, non
Western Australian policies, projects
or sites of interest.
ImageImage
Archdaily.comArchdaily.com
8 House by BIG8 House by BIG
Photo Credit: Jen LindhePhoto Credit: Jen Lindhe
27. New York CityNew York City
ImageImage
Inhabitat.comInhabitat.com
Summer Street 2012 Kinks off in New York CitySummer Street 2012 Kinks off in New York City
Marc CarterMarc Carter
29. Future Directions
Phase 3 – from 2014 Launch
2014 – 2015
• Ongoing maintenance, development of
website, partnership and evaluation
– Policy updates and integration into
plans across sectors
– New case studies and examples
– New evidence
• Future website functionality
– E.g. training modules
– Video and graphics
– Interactive tools
– E news
Goal 1: HEALTHY HEARTS
We want to help create environments that give Australians healthy options and provide information and support to promote their heart health.
To create these environment, we will focus on achieving three things.
A healthier food supply
We will provide national leadership and advocate for improvements to our food supply as part of a national food reformulation program, to help Australians eat less salt and saturated fat.
We will be calling on companies to reformulate food products, using the Heart Foundation Tick, and developing and distributing information aimed at reducing people’s intake of salt and saturated fats.
We know that the biggest health gains will come from a robust and comprehensive program that improves the nutritional quality of our food before it even arrives in Australians’ homes.
We will work with health organisations, food companies and governments to push for healthier foods and we want front of pack labelling to become better utilised and understood to help people make healthier choices.
More active living
We’d like to make it easier for more Australians to meet the national adult physical activity guidelines of being active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week.
To do this we’ll be advocating vigorously for public policy promoting healthier built environments and the increased use of active travel, with an emphasis on walking and cycling.
We’ll also continue our role of providing people with simple but effective ways to embrace a healthier lifestyle and show them how more activity can be built into even the busiest of lives.
A smoke-free Australia
We want fewer Australians smoking or exposed to tobacco smoke with the ultimate goal of a smoke-free Australia.
Significant gains have been made in this area among the general population, however the decline has been less evident amongst the most disadvantaged.
We will work in partnership with others who work directly with these groups. At an advocacy level, we will continue to call for increased taxes on tobacco products, legislation for extended smoke-free public areas and continued government funding for best practice quit campaigns.
Currently a significant number of the WA population are not undertaking sufficient physical activity for health benefits. Added to this, the population of Perth is expected to double in next 30/40 years. Must be underpinned by realistic assessment of likely impacts on physical activity. A range of factors influence physical activity levels including the activities of planners and developers who create the environments which encourage or discourage physical activity
HABD
Case studies
33 local metropolitan and regional examples
Check list strategies
Mixed Use
5 strategies
Buildings
8 strategies
Housing Diversity
6 strategies
Shared Facilities
5 strategies
Town Centre
8 strategies
Movement Networks
3 strategies
Sense of Place
6 strategies
Public open space
8 strategies
Schools
5 strategies
Examples
Mixed Use
8 links
Buildings
8 links
Housing Diversity
10 links
Shared Facilities
7 links
Town Centre
9 links
Movement Networks
24 links
Sense of Place
18 links
Public open space
10 links
Schools
9 links
A revitalised Perth Cultural Centre has contributed to a strong sense of place with dramatic increases in physical activity in the area. The regeneration of the Perth Cultural Centre is an example of how a commitment to developing an inviting, safe and innovative environment can result in positive outcomes for a local and regional community.
Health value
FRESH FOOD
With 31 assorted fruit trees the Urban Orchard is an excellent example of growing food in public urban spaces. Formal and informal attendance numbers at the Urban Orchard supports the view that the community appreciates organic gardening and local food production, in the heart of Perth.
In 2012, the British creative economy consultancy researchers, BOP, surveyed audiences of the Fringe Festival 2012 and identified that 76% of those attending would have stayed at home if the Fringe was not on.
Use value
Summer streets: In 2012, more than 250,000 people took advantage of the streets converted to places of recreation.
Public Plaza Program: Pedestrian volumes up by 6% in Herald Square and 11% in Times Square
