It wasn’t long ago that these words would look out of place in the same sentence. Why should property developers care about health, or indeed health equity? What does the built environment have to do with our health? What is health equity? Isn’t this just about adding more cost to property development which will make the delivery of much-needed housing and infrastructure less viable?
But as Professor Sir Michael Marmot and the Institute of Health Equity demonstrates, it’s all about the evidence. As the influential Marmot reviews on UK health inequalities in 2010 and 2020 revealed, that crucial measure of health outcomes – life expectancy – varies significantly across locations and population groups, and this wide variation is determined by equally wide variations in social determinants of health.
The homes and places we inhabit are one such determinant, and have had only limited attention from policymakers and practitioners on how they shape our health. And the role of the property sector, as a key stakeholder in designing, developing and operating this social determinant has not been fully explored. Until now.
I’m proud to have contributed to Building Health Equity- the Role of the Property Sector in Improving Health, which brings needed evidence to the built environment-health intersection and challenges the property sector to acknowledge these crucial links and to consider ways to address them.
Two years ago I challenged the property sector to look objectively at its impact on the health of local communities and to act collectively to address it. Out of the discussions that followed I was able to convene a group of leaders from the property sector, generously hosted by the CEO of Berkeley Group, Rob Perrins, where Sir Michael Marmot spoke about health inequalities and how these might be impacted by organisations in the sector. One of the attendees was Pete Gladwell, Director of Social impact at Legal & General, the UK’s largest pension fund.
This led to the Building Health Equity project, sponsored by Legal & General, which has generated new evidence on the links between housing, places and health, and has offered key recommendations to the property sector which include
· Help address the UK’s housing affordability and availability crises by supporting the supply of the right homes in the right places, with a mix of home types and tenures. To deliver a step change in housing supply, including the supply of affordable homes, investors, housing associations and government must work together to increase long-term institutional investment into the sector, supported by public sector subsidies.
· Design, build, maintain, and retrofit homes that support residents’ health and wellbeing. Prioritise features including high safety standards, energy efficiency, comfortable temperatures, good air quality, and design that helps older residents or residents with disabilities.
· Ensure residents have access to local services and infrastructure that have a direct bearing on health and wellbeing, including healthcare, education, and community facilities; high-quality green and play spaces; and public transport. This can intentionally target the most relevant health needs of different places, in conjunction with local government and local partners.
· Foster strong community relations that support mental and social wellbeing through collaborative engagement with residents, opportunities for local businesses, and active support for community-building activities – not just through planning and development but through ongoing operation.
This report is the beginning of an ambitious agenda to ensure the homes built and the places and communities developed have equity of health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability at their core. Further work is needed to ensure the property sector, national and local governments and other stakeholders operationalise the recommendations.
The timing and context for this report could not be more profound. I believe we are at a critical inflection point between the provision of housing and the prevention of ill health, and the time is now to connect the dots between them.
There have been encouraging signs in the last week from the government’s revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework and from the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report which focuses on health in cities.
All of this provides lots to reflect on over the Christmas and New Year break. There’s lots to do in the new year – the challenge is greater than ever but so is the opportunity to build for health.
Clare Delmar
Listen to Locals
17 December 2024
