Urban Land Institute launches the Building Healthy Places Initiative
Around the world, communities face pressing health challenges related to the built environment. For many years, ULI and its members have been active players in discussions and projects that make the link between human health and development; we know that health is a core component of thriving communities.
The ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative is building on that work with a multifaceted program—including research and publications, convenings, and advisory activities—to leverage the power of the Institute’s global networks to shape projects and places in ways that improve the health of people and communities.
Download the 10 Principles for Building Healthy Places Brochure
- Put People First
- Recognize the Economic Value
- Empower Champions for Health
- Energize Shared Spaces
- Make Healthy Choices Easy
- Ensure Equitable Access
- Mix It Up
- Embrace Unique Character
- Promote Access to Healthy Food
- Make It Active
Projects and Resources
Supported by current demographic and socioeconomic trends, market demand in cities, suburbs, and rural areas is undergoing fundamental shifts in response to concerns about community health. Today, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet are second only to tobacco use as the main causes of premature death in the United States. A growing body of research indicates that properly designed buildings, appropriate placement of structures, easy-to-reach parks, programming of community spaces, and access to healthy foods can have an extraordinary impact on community health. Communities need to leverage their health advantage and reimagine how property is developed and how people live so they can stay competitive and relevant.
Although it would be gratifying if all the preceding suggestions were adopted by every community, movement toward even a few would be beneficial. Many communities consider using “baby steps” or one step at a time. This incremental adoption of one or a few principles that are digestible and actionable would improve the community’s appetite for more.
It is also important to understand that any community has many moving parts and that different constituencies can expect to benefit in different ways from these Ten Principles. The local government benefits because local economic development
improves, the developer and investor benefit because they can create viable projects and add value, and the individual citizen benefits because the physical and cultural environment becomes more livable. Everyone benefits when people are healthier.
This is one of a series of publications, research, programs, and convocations on the issue of human health and the built environment. ULI will continue to research and explore health and health-related issues as they relate to the built environment, land use, and the real estate industry. For continuing information on this subject, visit https://americas.uli.org/research/centers-initiatives/building-healthy-places-initiative.