Item - 2012.HL12.1

The Board of Health received Item HL12.1 for information.

The way we plan, design and build our communities can influence our health. There is a connection between the built environment and factors influencing our health such as physical activity, injuries, healthy eating, air pollution, water quality, risk of traffic collision, and community social networks. Land use and urban design characteristics can influence the degree to which people walk, cycle, visit parks, drive cars or take public transit.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) has collaborated with City colleagues and external stakeholders to undertake several initiatives which support a healthier built environment.  These include the development of health-based decision-support tools for use in the land-use planning process, improving understanding and awareness of the relationship between the built environment and health outcomes, and exploring how policy enhancements and public engagement can be used to develop healthier environments that will help prevent obesity, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

This report provides an overview of research and policy work on the built environment that is underway by TPH, with a special focus on activities which are part of the Healthy Canada by Design collaborative project funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) through their Coalitions Linking Action and Science for Prevention (CLASP) initiative. The Medical Officer of Health (MOH) will report to the Board of Health (BOH) on these initiatives individually as they are completed.