Image: Milton Keynes, one of the ‘Wave 3’ New Towns, planned by Llewelyn Davies.

Stephen Featherstone was honoured to be invited to present at the Healthy Places online seminar arranged by Urban Design Living. See below extract for the summary of his presentation:

At a time when a major pandemic is impacting on the way we interact with public and private space, it is perhaps pertinent to take a quick canter through urban planning’s history of addressing major health issues and the fundamental wellbeing of people and places. Considering the synergies between public health and urban planning in relation to the natural environment which supports physical activity, social integration and mental health; protection from environmental pollutants, air quality and climate change and the prevention of infectious diseases in the community, we are entering a pivotal point once again. In this instance, in revisiting how a major trauma is compelling us to rethink what kind of places we need to live in, move between and plan for in the built environment to promote and sustain wellbeing and health. A quick sojourn into the formation of the NHS in 1948 will remind us of the importance of its critical role in supporting these initiatives.