Health and the built environment: exploring foundations for a new interdisciplinary profession

Area of Science:

• Interdisciplinary research at the intersection of public health and urban planning.
• Focus on the built environment's impact on human health.

Background:

• Public health and urban planning, despite shared origins, operate in separate silos.
• A disconnect exists between academic, political, and policy frameworks.
• The need for an integrated "healthy built environment profession" is growing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize literature on professional development in healthy built environments.
• To explore the relationship between health and built environment professionals.
• To address theoretical tensions and facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of "healthy built environments."
• Analysis of case studies on policy change and research translation.
• Examination of theoretical dialogues between disciplines.

Main Results:

• An emergent theme of "Professional Development" identified in the literature.
• Examples of good practice in policy change and research translation.
• Theoretical tensions, particularly regarding evidence requirements for policy, were highlighted.

Conclusions:

• Reinvigorating the relationship between public health and urban planning is crucial.
• Ongoing professional development is needed to foster an interdisciplinary "healthy planning" profession.
• Addressing disciplinary differences in evidence and protocols is key to effective collaboration.