Julia Thrift's work at the TCPA focuses on collaborating with a wide range of partners to help create healthier places. She contributed to Putting health into place, the guide to creating healthier new communities published by NHS England in 2019 and produced through a collaborative partnership between the TCPA, the King’s Fund, the Young Foundation, NHS England, Public Health England and the 10 NHS England Healthy New Towns. In addition, she leads the national Green Infrastructure Partnership, a network of more than 2,000 people and organisations working to improve green infrastructure in the UK. Throughout her career she has been interested in the links between the design of the built environment and the quality of people’s lives. Earlier in her career, she was the founding director of CABE Space, the government's adviser on policy and practice regarding England's urban parks and public spaces. She began her career as a journalist, writing about design, architecture and art. She has a degree in philosophy from UCL.