Making London a healthier place to live
There is a strong relationship between our health and the physical environment. By making changes to London’s houses, streets, squares and parks, we can create conditions that encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyles. London should feel safe and welcoming, and its services and public spaces should be accessible to all.
Commitments
The commitments below underpin the actions set out in the delivery plan. These are a mixture of long-term campaigns to tackle ‘the causes of the causes’ of health inequalities, and specific initiatives on key health challenges.
In terms of healthy places, the Mayor will work with partners to:
Ensure new homes and neighbourhoods are planned and designed to promote health and reduce health inequalities in order to be in general conformity with the London Plan.
Improve the quality of London’s existing homes and neighbourhoods, especially in those areas with the poorest levels of health.
Manage public places across London to be safer and more inclusive.
Deliver new and improved opportunities for healthier lifestyles.
Raise awareness of the health benefits of access to nature and green spaces and extend these benefits to all Londoners.
Beyond this, the Health Inequalities Strategy will initiate new actions where there are gaps in current policies. Some areas that will see early interventions include:
identifying what makes a healthy place and support boroughs by disseminating key requirements through a healthy places training module
along with the Police and the Fire Service identifying how we can best promote home safety and security;
continuing to monitor the success of 20mph zones and other traffic calming measures in residential areas with a view to promoting their take-up more widely
shaping and implementing the Mayor’s Sports Participation Programme to increase access to facilities and;
developing initiatives to make parks more accessible to excluded groups.
Commitments
The commitments below underpin the actions in First Steps to Delivery. On making London a healthier place to live, the Mayor will work with partners to:
- Ensure new homes and neighbourhoods are planned and designed to promote health and reduce health inequalities in order to be in general conformity with the London Plan.
- Improve the quality of London’s existing homes and neighbourhoods, especially in those areas with the poorest levels of health.
- Manage public places across London to be safer and more inclusive.
- Deliver new and improved opportunities for healthier lifestyles.
- Raise awareness of the health benefits of access to nature and green spaces and extend these benefits to all Londoners.
Beyond this, the Health Inequalities Strategy will initiate new actions where there are gaps. Some areas that will see early interventions include:
- identifying what makes neighbourhoods healthier, and working with boroughs to promote best practice
- improving Londoners' access to affordable, healthy food
- developing initiatives to make parks more accessible to excluded groups and increase opportunities for physical activity in green spaces.
London Health Inequalities Strategy
London Health Inequalities Strategy
First Steps to Delivery
