Education Network for Healthier Settlements
The Education Network for Healthier Settlements (ENHS) is a national network of Higher
Education Institutions who are promoting the integration of health issues into the teaching
and learning of built environment professionals.
Physical and mental health is increasingly being linked to the built environment through issues such as obesity, climate change, access to good quality local food, community infrastructure, air quality and noise pollution. For example, the UK government reports 'Foresight, Tackling Obesities'(2007) and 'Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives'(2008) made clear links between obesity and the built environment. The built environment professions affect the ability of people to make healthy choices; for example, through the ability to use active transport (walking, cycling) in going about daily activities such as commuting to work or school and local shopping.
So, the professionals responsible for our built environment need to understand the connections and their ability to influence the health and well being of the population. One starting point for this understanding is how we educate the built environment professions – those involved with spatial planning, transport planning, architecture, urban design, landscape etc.
There are a number of educators in Higher Education Institutions around the country who are
actively involved in promoting this agenda and the core network is made up of representatives
from a range of disciplines in universities from each of the English regions.
Overseeing the project, there is a high level project steering group drawn from the professional bodies and end users to assist in making the essential links between learning and practice.
The project is funded through the Department of Health Workforce Unit and the Cross Government Obesity Unit.
Project image (in banner above) by Richard Guise.
