Press Release: July 2007: Sprawling suburbs, spreading waistlines: Transport and planning discouraging physical activity
25 July 2007
Transport and planning policies are creating places that discourage physical activity and contribute to heart disease and rising obesity rates, according to a report released today by the National Heart Forum, Living Streets and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).
The layout of towns, cities and buildings influences the amount of exercise which people take naturally in their daily lives. The report, Building Health, provides a blueprint for action, including changing transport policies in which 'the car is king', and locating housing, shops and services to encourage walking and cycling.
With three million new homes being built by 2020, planning and design decisions made now will affect the shape of communities and public health for decades to come. European cities such as Copenhagen have proved that it is possible to have thriving city centres which cater fully for pedestrians and cyclists, making healthy living seem the easy option.
The recommendations are aimed at policymakers, planners, architects and transport professionals in the UK. Practical recommendations for new ministers include:
1. Applying a 'health check' on every investment programme, which include assessing the impact on levels of physical activity.
2. Strengthening guidelines for key strategic planning documents such as Community Strategies, Local Transport Plans, Regional and Sub-Regional Spatial Strategies, Local Development Frameworks and Sustainability Appraisals to make health and physical activity a key goal alongside sustainable development.
3. Integrating health promotion principles into the training of built environment professionals such as highways and transport engineers and town planners.
The report argues that the investment in regenerating East London for the 2012 Olympics must create a legacy of more opportunities for everyday physical activity in the new built environment. The Prime Minister has proposed an investment of £100m in five hours of PE a week at schools to foster a new generation of great athletes. This report says that young people who may never be athletic, and who are at greater risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, will however become healthier through well designed school buildings and playgrounds, interesting walking and cycling routes to school, and opportunities for informal play and other outdoor after-school activities.
Paul Lincoln, chief executive of the National Heart Forum said, "We challenge new Government ministers to implement the Building Health recommendations and build places where the active and healthy choice is the easy choice. The human body is designed to be active, and the growing rates of obesity and other chronic diseases are a natural reaction to the alien environment we have created by engineering physical activity out of our lives."
Tom Franklin, chief executive of Living Streets said, "Living on a street that's attractive and safe to walk in, within a neighbourhood designed to make walking to local amenities easy, encourages activity in a way that other initiatives can't. Active lifestyles cannot be separated from the design of our streets, towns and cities - they are part of the bricks and mortar of our everyday lives."
Richard Simmons, chief executive of CABE said, "Investment in the creation of high quality built environments can encourage people to be more active. If a small percentage of the money spent on treating obesity related diseases was spent on preventing them in the first place, a lot of public money would be saved."
The recommendations in the Blueprint for Action will form the basis for a continuing advocacy campaign for Government to work across departments, and with public health professionals, local authorities and the planning, development and architecture professions, to find innovative ways to make it easier for people to be empowered to be active every day.
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Notes to editors
1. Building Health: Creating and enhancing places for healthy, active lives, and the accompanying Blueprint for Action, addresses urban planning, building design, access to green space, and provision for walking and cycling. It looks in detail at what can be done to reverse the current trend toward an urban environment that discourages physical activity and instead create communities that emphasise quality of life. Copies can be downloaded
here.
2. In 2004 the Department of Health estimated that inactivity costs England £8.2 billion a year, including the costs of treating chronic disease and indirect costs due to missed work days due to sickness. Even moderate amounts of regular physical activity can prevent or reduce the impact of most avoidable chronic diseases.
3. Building Health is a result of a partnership of the National Heart Forum (NHF), Living Streets, and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). The Department of Health provided initial funding for the project.
Who we are
1. The
National Heart Forum is the alliance of more than 50 organisations working to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and associated chronic conditions in the UK. Member organisations represent the medical and health services, professional bodies, consumer groups and voluntary organisations. Members also include many individual experts in cardiovascular research. Government departments have observer status.
2. Living Streets is a national charity which campaigns for better streets and public spaces for people on foot. We were formed in 1929, as the Pedestrians Association. Our work is supported by a network of 46 branches and affiliated groups, 40 local authority members and a growing number of corporate supporters. As well as working to influence policy on a national and local level, we also carry out a range of practical work to implement our vision. This includes facilitating Community Street Audits (which engage with the people using streets to identify improvements) and providing training and consultancy to practitioners who design and manage our streets
3. CABE is the government's advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. As a public body, we encourage policymakers to create places that work for people. We help local planners apply national design policy and offer expert advice to developers and architects. We show public sector clients how to commission buildings that meet the needs of their users. And we seek to inspire the public to demand more from their buildings and spaces. Advising, influencing and inspiring, we work to create well-designed, welcoming places.