Planning for a Healthier Food Environment

Shape healthier communities through urban planning and food policy

Food access is critical in determining people’s health and well-being. Understanding its influence is essential for addressing inequities and promoting healthier communities.

Join the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, within the Department of Health and Social Care, on this flexible four-week course, and discover how urban planning and public health intersect to create healthier communities.

With practical applications and illustrative insights, this course will help you achieve strategic public health priorities while supporting sustainable economies.

Promote healthy weight environments

Begin by exploring the key drivers of a healthy weight environment – defining food environments and discussing food access’s role in shaping dietary choices.

You’ll examine the evolution of public health planning, reviewing historical approaches and gaining insight into modern policies that support healthier lifestyles.

Understand planning systems and health policy frameworks

Next, dive into key policy powers and levers that local authorities use to consider health and well-being through the planning process.

You’ll explore the National Planning Policy Framework, local and strategic plans, and how Health Impact Assessments and Supplementary Planning Documents can support healthier communities and a healthier weight environment.

Leverage strategies for improved urban health

The course concludes by showing how local authorities and organisations use planning policies and complementary non-planning approaches to address food environment challenges.

You’ll explore strategies like exclusion zones, hot food takeaway policies, and Joint Strategic Needs Assessments, and see how aligning these strategies supports healthier weight environments.

This course is designed for urban planners, public health professionals, policymakers, and researchers interested in creating healthier food environments.

You’ll also find this course helpful if you’re working in local government, community health, or sustainability, and if you’re looking for a greater understanding of the role planning plays in shaping food access and public health outcomes.

This course is designed for urban planners, public health professionals, policymakers, and researchers interested in creating healthier food environments.

You’ll also find this course helpful if you’re working in local government, community health, or sustainability, and if you’re looking for a greater understanding of the role planning plays in shaping food access and public health outcomes.

• Demonstrate how to apply existing guidance and advice to use planning to promote a healthier weight environment
• Describe the planning process and different mechanisms available to local government to support the development and promotion of healthier food environments
• Explain the role of the planning system within a whole systems approach to obesity
• Reflect on the planning system and food environment from the perspective of other professionals (public health or planning practitioners)