Research on planning for health and wellbeing
This research explores how good spatial planning can deliver better health and wellbeing outcomes for people, while rushed or ill-considered planning interventions can cause the opposite.
One project aims to fill the knowledge gap on the health impacts and inequalities associated with housing converted under England’s expanded permitted development rules, while another explores the relationships between health-focused policies in local plans, the geography of local authorities and local contexts.
We include a research project on planning places that support better mental health, which won an RTPI Student Award for Research Excellence in 2022.
We also include an Interface collection which shines a spotlight on the links between the spatial planning and public health professions and their common agenda.
Planning for health
Project: Local plans and health
This project explores the relationships between health-focused policies in local plans, the geography of local authorities and local contexts.

Award winner: Mental health and the built environment: delivering mentally healthy places
This award-winning research by Samantha Yates (née Simmons) explores the topic of planning places that are more conducive to mental health.

Interface: Health at the Heart of Spatial Planning
This Interface collection of the Journal of Planning Theory & Practice examines the links between spatial planning and public health.
