Abstract

British town planning emerged in the Victorian era as a response to the terrible impact unregulated urban development was having on public health, and to combat what Sir Peter Hall, after the poet James Thomson, described as ‘the city of the dreadful night’. More than a century later, evidence that where we live has profound effects on our health has only continued to amass. Despite this, a decade of deregulation is producing ‘slums of the future’, with huge costs for their residents. In England, national planning policy often seems to undermine, rather than support, public health.

What has brought about this rift between public health and town planning policy? How can we bring these two policy areas back together, and secure a stronger focus on prevention? And is it possible to ensure that all new homes and neighbourhoods support residents’ health and wellbeing?

In this session, the TCPA, with guest speakers Professor Sir Malcom Grant, chancellor of the University of York and formerly chairman of NHS England; Rachel Coxcoon, programme director, Climate Emergency Strategic Support at the Centre for Sustainable Energy; and Dr Nancy Holman, associate professor of urban planning at the London School of Economics, will discuss these questions, and explore the case for ground-breaking legislation in the form of a ‘Healthy Homes Act’.