Developers sought to make UK a healthier place

Developers are being sought to make the UK a healthier place. Urban development and land professionals are being asked to take part in a research project, led by the University of Bristol, to help shape the way places are created for better population health. The University of Bristol programme, “Tackling the root causes upstream of unhealthy urban development”, is looking for people “with a strong understanding of the land and development industries” to take part in a series of interviews. The study hopes to improve knowledge of how urban developers think about health when planning projects. The insight will help the research team build interventions that challenge and influence corporate mindsets towards healthier outcomes. The research programme involves more than 40 researchers across six universities and multiple disciplines, and aims to reduce non-communicable disease, such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, mental ill-health and respiratory illness, as well as health inequalities linked to the quality of urban planning and development. The study is being led by Krista Bondy at the University of Stirling. “Improving the health of urban communities is a very complex issue,” she said. “We know from our initial research with 132 professionals from across the urban development system in the UK that dominant ways of thinking are a barrier to achieving this.” She added that the next phase of research would take a more in-depth look at the way urban development professionals think and how they are influenced by considerations regarding health. This would then help the team to “build meaningful tools for the industry”. The interviews will be conducted by an academic during an hour-long video call by mid-February 2024. Anyone interested in taking part can contact Sophie Turnbull at the University of Bristol via sophie.turnbull@bristol.ac.uk. There is also an opportunity for participants to become advisers to the research programme. Photo by Maureen McLean/Shutterstock (12623025d)