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Report: July 2007: Building Health: Creating and enhancing places for healthy, active lives: What needs to be done?

Author/Editor: Editor: Nick Cavill
Produced by: National Heart Forum, in partnership with Living Streets and CABE, July 2007
ISBN: 978 1 874279 15 2
Cost: Free
Download Available: Building Health: What needs to be done? (2 MB)

Building Health: Creating and enhancing places for healthy, active lives: What needs to be done? is a collection of papers by leading experts and campaigners which examine how the design of towns, cities and buildings might encourage physical activity.  Building Health covers issues ranging from strategic and urban planning, to walking and cycling, to urban green space and building design. This project was done in partnership with Living Streets and CABE

Physical activity is essential to good health and helps prevent and manage avoidable chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, certain forms of cancer, and obesity.  But our lifestyles are becoming increasingly sedentary, and few Britons are active on a regular basis.  Many transport and planning policies unintentionally contribute to this problem by building barriers to physical activity - such as prioritising cars before pedestrians and cyclists, and locating housing, shops, services and places where people work in areas virtually inaccessible without a car. 

The contributors to Building Health consider the problems and offer recommendations aimed at national and local policymakers as well professionals in the fields of transport, planning and architecture to help us build healthier communities. The contributors were Alan Barber, Hugh Barton, John Dales, Don Earley, Ben Hamilton-Baillie, James Hulme and Philip Insall.

Building Health is accompanied by the Blueprint for Action (Opens in new window), which provides an executive summary of the policy papers and includes the policy recommendations.

This project was initially funded by the Department of Health.

Availability

The full report Building Health: Creating and enhancing places for healthy, active lives: What needs to be done? is only available as a download from this website above or from Living Streets and CABE websites.   

Limited hard copies of the Building Health: Blueprint for Action can be ordered from:

Pauline Styles
Freestyle Business Services
22 Kindersley Way
Abbots Langley
Hertfordshire WD5 0DQ
Tel: 01923 269902
Fax: 01923 445374
Email: Pauline.styles@ntlworld.com

Please note - courier/postage & packaging costs: 

- Hard copy orders will incur courier/postage & packing charges, please contact Pauline Styles directly regarding shipping and cost options
- Please make cheques payable to 'National Heart Forum', or contact Pauline Styles for invoice or BACS payments.

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Related sections on this website:

Policy: Physical Activity
About CHD: Physical Inactivity
Other reports: Let's get moving, NHF, 2001