Overview of approaches in response to the challenge

Jon Fairburn, Institute for Environment, Sustainability and Regeneration,

Staffordshire Universitywww.staffs.ac.uk/iesr

jon.fairburn@staffs.ac.ukTel 01782 294038

The Health Map

Barton and Grant 2006

Mapping of physical activity behaviours in deprived inner-city communities (Stoke on

Trent)

Dimension Sample metrics

Neighbourhood environment (ANEWS)

Accessibility to local amenities & spaces, perception of safety/crime, perceived barriers to PA, social capital, socio-demographics.

Health indicators BMI, perceived health status (SF12, EQ5D), mortality data, hospital admissions, CVD risk

Current PA levels and PA behaviour

“Objective” PA (accelerometry),

PA domains (IPAQ (long)), behaviour change.

Mapping at the household level

% population within 300m of Green Space

Site

Size and Access of Green Space

All2 hectares

in sizeUnrestrictedAccess 2ha

1 88.9 88.6 88.6

2 97.8 79.4 79.3

3 95.3 75.9 75.9

4 75.9 46.4 46.4

5 96.9 93.4 77.9

6 97.8 28.2 20.1

7 76.1 67.9 2.0

8 90.9 29.4 29.4

9 79.9 32.0 0

10 92.6 56.1 17.5

11 60.1 50.4 49.6

12 63.5 11.9 8.5

Public message failure?

• Current environment does not support healthy lifestyle

• Walkability often ok but not done, may need traffic re-routing or proper cycling infrastructure to encourage more physical activity

• Green space common but issues of quality/functionality fear of crime – under used asset with potential

Env and social factors

• Air quality• IPPC - pollution• Waste – active and

inactive sites• Flooding• Noise• Green space• Multiple or cumulative

impacts

• Income• Gender• Age• Ethnicity • Disability• Future generations• People in other

countries

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Decile

Per

cen

tag

e

Percentage of people living within 1 kilometre of active waste sites

Decile 1 is most deprived, decile 10 least deprived

Multiple Impact Score Method (score of 100 would indicate that every household in the SOA was experiencing every impact)

"Source: ONS, Super Output Area Boundaries. Crown copyright 2004. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO"

Questions for the West Midlands

• What is the baseline?• Inter agency working, how well is it

working?• The need to get the planners on board• The need to move beyond just fine words

in Local Development Frameworks and Regional Spatial Strategy

• How to operationalise strategic aims concerning sustainable development?

Scotland• Forward Scotland awarded £2 Million for the Environmental Justice Fund

2007-8

• To be eligible to apply for funding, communities needed to demonstrate how they have been affected by past or present damaging or polluting activity. In addition, projects must:

• Improve the local environment for communities and promote environmental justice by addressing damaged or inadequate environments caused by past or present damaging or polluting activity;

• Have the full engagement and support of the local community and help build capacity to enable and encourage local people to participate in decisions about their environment;

• Promote and support sustainable development and have demonstrable social, environmental and economic outcomes that benefit the local community.

Env Justice and USA

• President Obama – background in environmental justice issues in Chicago

• Manifesto commitment to support Env Justice through: - Expansion of Environmental Justice Small Grants Programme

- strengthen the EPA Office of Environmental Justice

- “They will work to provide low-income communities the legal ability to challenge policies and processes that adversely affect the environmental health of low-income and minority communities.”

Some references• Barack Obama http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/EnvironmentFactSheet.pdf

• Barton H (2005) Healthy Urban Planning (useful intro)• http://www.bne.uwe.ac.uk/who/docs/hupintroduction.pdf

• Environmental Justice Fund, Scotland http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/SustainableDevelopment/envjusticegrants

• Fairburn J, Butler B and Smith G (2009) Environmental justice on South Yorkshire: locating social deprivation and poor environments using multiple indicators in Local Environment Vol. 14 (2) pp 139-154

• Fairburn J and Smith G (2008) Environmental Justice in South Yorkshire: Working towards a better quality of life. Environment Agency Publications. Available at

• https://publications.environment- agency.gov.uk/epages/eapublications.storefront

• EU Guidelines for Impact Assessment January 2009 • http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs_en.htm

• Social Ecological Mapping of Inner City Communities (Stoke on Trent)• http://www.staffs.ac.uk/IESR/projects_mrc.shtml

• Walker G, Fay H and Mitchell G (2005) Environmental Justice Impact Assessment: An evaluation of requirements and tools for distributional analysis. A report for Friends of the Earth. Available at

• http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/ej_impact_assessment.pdf