City of Well-being

Hugh Barton is Emeritus Professor of planning, health and sustainability at the University of the West of England, and the author or editor of a series of innovative books including Sustainable Communities and Healthy Urban Planning (both 2000), Shaping Neighbourhoods (2010), and The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being (2015). He is a recognized international expert, acting as special advisor to the World Health Organization Healthy Cities movement. A town planner by training, he has spent most of his career teaching planning, urban design and sustainable development at the University of the West of England, Bristol. His research and consultancy has focused on low carbon urban form, inclusive appraisal processes, and the integration of health and well-being into planning. Since ‘retirement’ in 2012 he has continued writing, and participating in academic and professional engagements, while devoting time to community activism, music-making, tennis and a growing number of grandchildren.

Contents

List of Figures

Preface

Acknowledgements

I Orientation

Prologue: contrasting city scenarios

1. Putting people at the heart of planning








Introduction: the purpose of planning



Time-bombs of health, climate and urbanization



Planning at the cross-roads



Reflection



2. A framework for understanding








Towards an eco-system model of cities



The settlement health map



Interpretation of the health map



Conclusion: ethics for planners



II Inspiration

3. Shafts of light from the past








Classical designers and the city of Priene



The Mediaeval city: Siena



Grand designs: Paris re-imagined



Ethical entrepreneurs and Saltaire



4. The emergence of modern planning








The public health revolution



Ebenezer Howard and Garden Cities



The pioneers in Britain and America



Planning as civic design



The British new towns



Gaining the country but losing the plot



5. Beacons of hope








Introduction: Healthy Cities



Copenhagen: city of cyclists



Kuopio: city of lakes and forests



Freiburg: city of short distances



Portland: breaking the neo-liberal taboo



Lessons from inspirational cities



III Cognition: understanding people and environment

6. Spatial planning for physical well-being








Obesity, health and physical activity










Active travel – walking and cycling



Active recreation



Healthy diet



Cautions and counsels



7. Planning for mental and social well-being








Nature, greenspace, sun and sound



Social networks and community



Healthy, diverse neighbourhoods



Social capital and empowerment



Spatial planning recommendations



8. Planning for place equity








Social justice and health inequalities



Planning for all



Work, income and spatial policy



Housing and living conditions



Movement and accessibility



9. Climate change and settlement planning








The science of climate change



Greenhouse gases, energy and planning



Sustainable energy strategy



Human ecology



10. The local ecology of cities








Ecological resilience



Green infrastructure



Air quality and planning










Sustainable urban water systems



Biodiversity



Local food production



IV Navigation: a route map for healthy planning








Criteria for judging healthy urban policy



11. Reality check: the economics of land and development








The life-cycle of a plot



Players in the development game



Land and housing markets



How land values shape the city



Urban renewal and managing the market



12. Sustainable urban form








Understanding urban form



Centrifugal and centripetal forces



Decentralization versus the compact city



Polycentricity and linearity



Five key urban form decision areas



13. Healthy neighbourhood design








Introduction: the significance of locality



The shape of neighbourhoods



Spatial analysis and density



The quality of place



Conclusion: urban design



14. Urban dynamics








Introduction: strategic planning issues



Understanding the economic base of a city



Population and housing



Matching economic activity and population



Transport infrastructure and economic development



V. Perspiration: land, power and the planning process

14. The governance of land






Is planning really necessary?



Private and community property rights



Comparative planning systems



Local government powers



Conclusion

16. The planning process and the role of planners






Dimensions of planning: technical, political and executive



From design to the rational planning process



Heroic versus humdrum planning



The medium is the message: collaborative planning



Testing theory against practice



Ethical planning

17. Putting principle into practice






Making decisions in a pluralist society: engaging communities



A cyclic planning process



Case study: Stroud town centre Neighbourhood Plan



Converting healthy rhetoric into healthy decisions



Conclusion

Epilogue






Seven conclusions if we are serious about planning cities for well-being



Final thought

Index