I am currently a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington. My work focuses broadly on how urban change can support health and sustainability in the context of environmental degradation and equity challenges. My training and experience working as an urban planner in the private and public sectors, both in the UK and internationally, have informed my approach to research and teaching.
With a focus on impact, I use transdisciplinary research approaches, meaning that I collaborate closely with partners across diverse fields to generate new solutions for societal problems. I am currently the principal investigator of Change Stories, a project that uses participatory and ethnographic methods to learn from the cultures, narratives and contexts that have supported shifts to equitable and sustainable development in three cities. I am also leading research on the lived experience of residents living in homes converted from non-residential properties in England, as a co-investigator on a study funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Through my work on healthy urbanism, I have developed an approach to design and planning that unites human health and wellbeing with the sustainability of environmental systems. Conceptually, I have redefined the meaning of healthy urban development through the lenses of equity, inclusion and sustainability in the THRIVES framework. My book on Healthy Urbanism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) provides a balance of theory and practice, setting out why and how to create healthy places using many case study examples.
Helen has created research impact by collaborating with government, industry, charities and professional institutions. With a Bartlett Innovation Fund award she co-develop online training on the THRIVES framework, which participants have praised for creating ‘a bridge between theory and practice’. She won for healthy regeneration guidance that she authored. She has co-authored numerous reports on housing, planning, climate and health for the World Health Organization, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society and the Obesity Health Alliance.
Prior to joining UW in 2023, I lived and worked in London for 16 years. Most recently, I was an Associate Professor at University College London. Previously, I worked at the Building Research Establishment, Local Government Association and in national and local government in the areas of sustainable urbanisation, health, climate change and low carbon energy. My training is in Community and Environmental Planning and English Literature (B.A. 2003, UW), Linguistics (M.A., 2006, UCL) and Healthy and Sustainable Built Environments (Ph.D., 2019, UCL). I am a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. I have received numerous awards, including a 2018 Research Excellence Award from the Royal Town Planning Institute, 2020 First Prize at the First Prize at The Lancet UK Public Health Science Conference, and nominations in 2021 and 2022 for Education and Student Choice Awards at UCL. I have provided expert advice on healthy urbanism internationally, including for the World Health Organization, the NHS England Healthy New Towns Programme, and the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.