Designing Healthy Places: Land Use Planning and Public Health (Report‪)‬

Abstract Health systems everywhere are currently struggling with the burden of 21st century public health problems, most notably chronic disease and injuries. In light of growing concerns about the sustainability of the health care system, interest has been growing in exploring how different types of urban design can promote health and influence the prevention of population-level factors that contribute to disease and injury. The evidence demonstrates that there is an association between land use planning and the health of populations. The most researched area to date for connecting land use planning and public health is the impact of urban design on levels of physical activity. Low density suburban neighbourhoods contribute significantly to physical inactivity. The design of these neighbourhoods and their distance from daily destinations (groceries, services) typically requires a high degree of automobile dependence and decreases opportunities for active transportation, such as walking, cycling and use of public transit. The evidence shows that people who live in walkable communities (those that have mixed land uses, connected streets and higher population density) walk more and drive less than those who live in suburban communities. This paper highlights the links between land use planning and public health and makes the case for public health input into land use decision-making processes.