I was the principal investigator of this project, funded by Impact on Urban Health. We used participatory action research methods to support the property team at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation to improve health through their property and land assets.
The project involved conceptual and social research methods. We produced the THRIVES framework (image), alongside a free online short-course on healthy urbanism. We also conducted a review of healthy urban development case studies to understand what “best practice” might look like.
In addition to close collaboration with the Foundation and its partners on a new development project, we studied how the real estate industry is incorporating health into new development by interviewing international built environment and health stakeholders. As standards are an important part of this work, we produced a separate analysis of the role of WELL, Fitwel and others.
People have started using THRIVES to explain the concept of healthy urbanism, guide development proposals, structure discussions about health impact and in teaching. For example, the UN Habitat’s World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities and Salus and Dorsay’s, Guiding Principles for Planning Healthy Communities.
THRIVES is also a resource for teaching. Project collaborator Dr Gemma Moore, wrote about Using the THRIVES framework in postgraduate teaching to conceptualise healthy places (with student contributions).
A major output of this project was my first book, Healthy Urbanism: Designing and Planning Equitable, Sustainable and Inclusive Places (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).