The Network is the national TPHN lead on the Built Environment and Public Health. It has funded work led by Marcus Grant, a Senior Research Fellow at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Cities and Urban Policy at the University of the West of England, to develop links between built environment professionals and public health. This includes:

• The development of a Healthy Urban Planning Short Course. Sessions are run at different centres across the UK and are aimed at a wide range of built environment and public health professionals. It is also possible to arrange bespoke courses to meet your needs, at a variety of locations.  
• A range of Health and Planning CPD modules have been developed, in the form of on-line, bite-size learning resources.
• Working with the professional organisations (including the Royal Town Planning Institute, Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), to influence future curriculum development around public health issues. 
• The work around the built environment has featured in a recent Lancet Editorial and is summarised in a review paper in the journal Public Health.   
• A related project, the Freiburg Study Tour (funded by NHS South West, and organised by the WHO Collaborating Centre), saw a high level delegation of public health professionals and planners visit the city of Freiburg, in South West Germany, to see for themselves how cities can promote sustainable behaviours. The tour also developed links between the participating public health and planning professionals.

 For more information, contact Marcus Grant on: marcus.grant@uwe.ac.uk. +44 (0)117 32 83363.