Our vision
To make—in partnership with other SPHERE Strategic Platforms and Clinical Academic Groups, UNSW, UTS, WSU, LHDs, and other aligned partner organisations—a significant change to public health and urban policy development and planning at the national and state level, through evidence-based research, educational strategies, and translation of knowledge.
Our People
Dr Marianne Gale
Mandy Williams
Focus
Through its three work streams, HUE impacts policies and practices for urban health in Sydney and globally.
Our Streams
Health precincts and health infrastructure
Equity and the determinants of health
Sustainability and the environment
HUE Projects
HUE is committed to working with its partners to improve the health of residents by shaping the health cityscape.
Place-based planning for health precincts in NSW: Discussion paper
With support from HUE, the Institute of Sustainable Futures has developed a paper for Health Infrastructure NSW to facilitate discussions on NSW health precincts.
Assessing health precincts for health promotion
HUE has started research into health precincts in South West Sydney Local Health District, with the focus on: Does hospital/healthcare infrastructure, directly or indirectly, impact on the health of patients, staff, their social networks and the wider community?
Place-based Health Interventions in NSW - A rapid review of evidence
This report describes a rapid review exercise on the place-based intervention approaches to improving the health and wellbeing outcomes of residents in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). The aim of this exercise is to inform the Cancer Institute NSW on their future policy and program developments in cancer prevention and screening. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following research questions:
1. What place-based interventions for health promotion and risk prevention and screening currently exist in NSW?
2. How effective have these interventions been in achieving their stated objectives?
Facilitating physical and non-physical connections to Country among older Aboriginal peoples living in urban Australia
This project (funded by the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute as part of its 2022 seed grant program) investigates how traditional walaays (ceremonial camps) and Augmented Reality technology may assist older, urban-living Aboriginal people to reconnect with Country, and contribute to cultural healing.
Land Use Planning for Equitable Health Outcomes (LUPEHO)
The final report (3.2MB) and supplementary tables (1.4MB) are now available for downloads. Our Conversation article can be viewed online.
Partnersing with UNSW Sydney's Centre for Health Equity Training, Research and Evaluation, this project (commissioned by the Western Sydney Health Alliance) reviews the development of healthy planning principles in Australia and internationally, assesses how land use planning instruments at the NSW State and local government levels align with and operationalise 12 healthy planning principles, and proposes a set of indicators that will assist the Alliance to benchmark and monitor health equity outcomes in the Western Parkland City.
It finds that, while Australian healthy planning guidelines lead in considering healthy equity and outcomes, these are not necessarily translated to land use planning instruments and guidance. Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) were more likely to have considered healthy planning principles and issues of equity than State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs). There are also notable gaps in data that limit the ongoing monitoring of health equity outcomes across different population groups.
Government agencies and alliance groups should advocate for greater integration of healthy planning principles and equity in these land use planning instruments, including in conjnction with other social and community planning programs.
Inclusive place-based planning for LGBTQIA+ communities
This collaborative project involves researchers at the University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University, UNSW Sydney and Arup Australia. Funded by the Greater Cities Commission, it will investigate how city planning can help improve the senses of belonging, home and safety of our Lesbian, Gay, Busexual, Trans and Gender Diverse, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and other sexual minority (LGBTQIA+) communities living in the Six Cities Region.
Assessing and addressing formal and informal care needs when diversities intersect
This project (funded by the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute as part of its 2023 seed grant program) will identify the care and support needs of older people at the intersection of age, ethnicity and sexuality, to uncover how their needs
are currently supported by formal services and informal networks. We will do this through a mixed-method approach, by analysing and mapping data from the NSW
Gay Asian Men Survey Series and the GEN Aged Care Data, and gaining insights into the through in-depth
interviews with non-heterosexual men of Asian backgrounds living in Australia as well as stakeholders. The
outcomes will inform government and industries on how they may develop strategies to better support diverse, ageing populations.
A copy of the Project Information Statement can be downloaded here.
Seed Projects
HUE has funded projects which align with its vision, builds capacity and/or provides a new knowledge base for future, large-scale interventions.
Conceptualising unhealthy urban places: The need for a systems approach
Climate change health and vulnerability assessment of South Eastern and South Western Sydney
NSW built environment practitioners’ perspectives on place-making opportunities that deliver health and wellbeing outcomes
Urban Planning and Design for the COVID-19 era: a rapid review for policy and practice
Carbon Accounting in Healthcare: The path to improving patient health, saving money and saving carbon
Effectiveness of community-based food hubs and peer support on food accessibility and dietary intake
What causes significant changes in walking? Investigating macro and micro level drivers of walking in neighbourhoods
Urbanisation and health during the first 2000 days of life: Building a foundation for health in Sydney’s urban environment
Waterloo housing estate redevelopment: Assessment of residents’ health needs and circumstances
Hot Hospital Carparks – An Avoidable Risk for Patients and Visitors?
What stops and promotes cycling of children from lower socio-economic groups; A Blacktown (NSW) Case Study
Queering Cities in Australia - Making public spaces more inclusive through urban policy and practice
Professor Andrew Gorman-Murray, UWS
Publications & Outputs
Publications and outputs written and conceived by HUE members which align with iour vision, build capacity and/or provide a new knowledge base for future, large-scale interventions.
Edgar Liu, Malgorzata Lagisz, Andrew Reid, Evelyne de Leeuw
What's Happening?
News
HUE's submission to the Measuring What Matters public consultation
HUE recently contributed to the Australian Treasury's Measuring What Matters public consultation. We applaud the incumbent government's aspirations to recognise more than just economic activities and prosperities, and pay attention to other aspects that contribute to good and healthy life too. You can read our submission here.
Groundbreaking report on Sustainability and Health that should inspire us
Read the 'Drawing light from the pandemic' Report
“Drawing light from the pandemic: a new strategy for health and sustainable development - A review of the evidence” for the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development.
In 2020 Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe, asked Mario Monti to lead a Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development. Dr Kluge and Professor Monti invited a small number of former heads of state and government, distinguished life scientists and economists, heads of
health and social care institutions, and leaders of the business community and financial institutions from across the European Region to bring together their outstanding expertise and experience to “rethink policy priorities in the light of pandemics".
'Envisaging the Future of Cities'- World Cities Report 2022
Read the World Cities Report 2022
World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities seeks to provide greater clarity and insights into the future of cities based on existing trends, challenges and opportunities, as well as disruptive conditions, including the valuable lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, and suggest ways that cities can be better prepared to address a wide range of shocks and transition to sustainable urban futures. The Report proposes a state of informed preparedness that provides us with the opportunity to anticipate change, correct the course of action and become more knowledgeable of the different scenarios or possibilities that the future of cities offers.
In 2016, the international community adopted the New Urban Agenda to harness the power of sustainable urbanization to achieve our global goals of peaceful, prosperous societies on a healthy planet.
Despite progress since then, the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises have posed huge challenges. Urban areas were particularly hard hit by the pandemic – underscoring the importance of stepping up efforts to build a more sustainable and equitable urban future.
Local is the space where we connect the dots. Cities and towns can spearhead innovations to bridge the inequalities gaps, deliver climate action and ensure a green and inclusive recovery from the pandemic – especially as the proportion of people living in urban areas is projected to grow to 68 per cent by 2050.
The World Cities Report 2022 stresses that building resilience must be at the heart of the cities of the future. The success of
cities, towns and urban areas will largely depend on policies that protect and sustain all, leaving no one behind. We need green investment for sustainable patterns of consumption and production; responsive and inclusive urban planning; the prioritization of public health; and innovation and technology for all.
These steps will help cities adapt and respond to shocks and stresses and lead our world to a resilient, just, and sustainable urban future.
António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
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© 2021
An Tran