Built and natural environment

Get in touch. We will continue to develop this page. If you have examples of practice in reducing the impact of the wider determinants on health outcomes that you would like to share on this page, please get in touch at ProfileFeedback@dhsc.gov.uk.

View Public Health England's Healthy Places team work programme, designed to support the development of healthy places and homes.

Data, information & analysis

The links below will take you to resources that offer complementary detail or functionality to inform decision making on the wider determinants of health.

• Local Health: health information at a small area (MSOA) level, PHE.
• Ward level geography: Overcrowding (2011 census) [.xlsx file], ONS.
• Ward level geography: Density of fast food outlets (2014), PHE.
• LSOA level geography: Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards (AHAH) Index (version 2), mapping of the AHAH index, sub-domains and individual indicators, CDRC (version 1 can be found here).
• LSOA level geography: Fuel poverty (2014, includes higher level geography), DECC.
• SHAPE: Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation, PHE, NHS.
• Propensity to Cycle Tool.
• Transport Statistics Great Britain 2016, DfT.
• Road accidents and safety statistics, DfT.
• The Environment and Health Atlas for England and Wales, MRC, PHE, ICL.
• Data sources to support local services tackling health risks of cold homes, PHE.
• English Housing Survey: annual reports and data (at national level) on a variety of housing topics, DCLG.
• Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer 2017: Health Impacts of All Pollution – what do we know?
• Air pollution: a tool to estimate healthcare costs, PHE.
• ORVal: Outdoor Recreation Valuation tool, University of Exeter
• Wider Impacts of COVID-19 on Health, PHE

Taking action

The links below will hopefully help you to take further action to reduce the impact of the wider determinants on health outcomes. The resources in the list include ideas, interventions and examples of good practice from a wide variety of sources.

General

• Spatial Planning for Health: An evidence resource for planning and designing healthier places, PHE.
• Planning Healthier Places: report from the reuniting health with planning project, TCPA.
• Public Health in Planning: Good Practice Guidance, TCPA/London Borough of Merton.
• Building the foundations: tackling obesity through planning and development, LGA, PHE, TCPA.
• A guide to town planning for health organisations and A guide to the healthcare system in England for local planning authorities, DH.
• Healthy Urban Planning Checklist, NHS (and partners).
• Healthy New Towns project, NHS.
• The Place Standard, NHS Scotland, Scottish Gov't.
• Age-Friendly Cities Liverpool study, NIHR.
• International WELL Building Institute.
• Putting Health into Place (Healthy New Towns), NHS
• Spatial Planning and Health: Getting Research into Practice , PHE
• Healthy weight environments : using the planning system, PHE

Natural and sustainable environments

• Enabling a Natural Capital Approach (ENCA). DEFRA (2020)
• Improving access to greenspace: A new review for 2020. PHE
• A rapid scoping review of health and wellbeing evidence for the Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards.  Natural England (2020)
• Improving Access to Green Spaces, PHE, IHE.
• Visits to urban Greenspaces (2009-2016), Natural England.
• Health and the natural environment: A review of evidence, policy,practice and opportunities for the future. DEFRA (2018)
• Making Parks Count: The case for parks. The Parks Alliance (2020)
• The People and Nature Survey for England. Natural England
• Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE). Natural England
• Physical activity and the environment, NICE.
• Health and Environmental Impact Assessment: guide for local teams, PHE.
• Waterways and wellbeing, Canal & River Trust.
• Air pollution: outdoor air quality and health (guidance), PHE, NICE.
• Improving outdoor air quality and health: review of interventions. PHE (2019)
• Health matters: air pollution, a summary of health matters associated with air pollution and links to further resources, PHE.

Neighbourhood design

• Building for a Healthy Life Urban Design Group
• National Design Guide MHCLG
• Healthy Streets, TfL, Lucy Saunders.

• Healthy High Streets, PHE, IHE.
• Street Mobility Project, UCL.
• Active Design guidelines, Sport England.
• Gambling Commission: Public Health and Safeguarding Toolkit, Gambling Commission.

Transport

• Active Travel and Physical Activity evidence review Sport England
• House of Commons briefing paper. Active Travel: Trends, policy and funding
• Working together to promote active travel: A briefing for Local Authorities, PHE
• Sport England and PHE - Active Design Guidance
• Gear Change - A bold vision for cycling and walking, DfT
• A review of interventions to improve outdoor air quality and public health, PHE
• NICE guidance  - walking and cycling
• Delivering Healthy Local Transport Plans, DfT
• The Good Councillor's Guide to transport planning, NALC
• Better planning, better transport, better places., CIHT
• Manual for Streets, DfT
• Transport and Health - understanding each other and working together, Urban Transport Group

Housing, homes and other buildings

• Improving health through the home: guidance and resources on the health and home relationship, PHE.
• Fuel poverty and cold home-related health problems, PHE, IHE.
• Cold Homes Toolkit, Citizens Advice. 
• The cost of poor housing to the NHS, Housing LIN.
• Helping people living in cold homes e-learning module PHE, e-LfH

Healthy food

• Using planning to promote healthy weight environments, PHE
• Gateshead hot food takeaways SPD case study, PHE
• Example of planning for healthier neighbourhoods: Hot Food Takeaway Supplementary Planning Document, Newcastle City Council.

• Obesity and the environment briefing: regulating the growth of fast food outlets, PHE, CIEH, LGA.
• Food Environment Assessment Tool (FEAT), MRC, University of Cambridge, CEDAR.