Healthy places

What is it about your neighbourhood that is good or bad for your health and well-being?

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What is it about your neighbourhood that is good or bad for your health and well-being, or the health and well-being of people you know?

What do you think makes a healthy community? What facilities do you like to see near where you live?

The discussion ran from 22 August 2017 - 01 December 2017

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To improve Londoners' health we must tackle pollution and waste, including moving to refillable tap water provision wherever possible. I urge the Mayor to show leadership and put water refill points across London's transport network.
If...

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To improve Londoners' health we must tackle pollution and waste, including moving to refillable tap water provision wherever possible. I urge the Mayor to show leadership and put water refill points across London's transport network.
If tap water was provided across London, for free, it would help to make London's streets conducive to exercise, and save people money when out and about. At the moment cheap-suagry drinks are often the easiest option and are impacting on Londoners health and public cost.
Make water a right for all people and install refill stations across London. Fresh, visible and accessible water is a smart, simple solution to help healthier lives across London.

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I enjoy exploring our wonderful city by foot and by bike. It would be much easier if there were more water refill points around the city. It makes sense to have many of these in a safe controlled space like our tube and train stations. This...

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I enjoy exploring our wonderful city by foot and by bike. It would be much easier if there were more water refill points around the city. It makes sense to have many of these in a safe controlled space like our tube and train stations. This would help tackle pollution and plastic waste. For many people it would also encourage them to drink water rather than sugary, caffeinated drinks. Hugely improving the health of London's citizens and visitors.

I urge the Major to show leadership and put water refill points across London's transport network.

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I like to run in the beautiful green spaces and parks that London has to offer. However it is annoying when I'm out and about to find places to fill up my water bottle - there needs to be public water fountains and water refill points to...

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I like to run in the beautiful green spaces and parks that London has to offer. However it is annoying when I'm out and about to find places to fill up my water bottle - there needs to be public water fountains and water refill points to help runners, walkers and people out and about in London to stay hydrated without having to buy disposable plastic, which sadly seems to be on the rapid rise and blighting our streets.

Remove the need for disposable plastic and provide free water for those that live, work & play in London based around public infrastructure such as tube & train stations as well as parks - then we would all know where we could easily go to go to get a free drink, without having to buy plastic or go into a shop/cafe.

Water is a public good and should be available in public places.

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As one of the 5000+ boaters in London, I have the benefit of living on the beautiful canals but the environment is blighted by litter and pollution and plastic is a huge part of this. Boaters don't have a piped supply of water, we need to...

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As one of the 5000+ boaters in London, I have the benefit of living on the beautiful canals but the environment is blighted by litter and pollution and plastic is a huge part of this. Boaters don't have a piped supply of water, we need to fill up a tank at a few water points across the city but we run out, and sometimes taps are out of order. It would greatly reduce the need to buy bottled water if tap water was freely available. It's amazing how much you take something for granted until you have it - there must be thousands of Londoners other than boaters that don't just have a tap that they can turn on at home and get unlimited drinking water. I support WATER FOR LONDON

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What makes a healthy community are places where people can gather for free and participate in cultural activities such as music, dance, art, storytelling of all sorts. Spaces for voices to feel heard and information to be shared.
Facilities...

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What makes a healthy community are places where people can gather for free and participate in cultural activities such as music, dance, art, storytelling of all sorts. Spaces for voices to feel heard and information to be shared.
Facilities I'd like to see are music and dance venues (or licenses to use buildings for these), markets.
Libraries or learning spaces where communities can share knowledge. Somewhere where people can work quietly is also something that seems to be disappearing. Also community workshops and hackspaces where communities can fix things and invent things - local businesses could donate materials they no longer need.

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I live in Southall and enjoy being part of an ethnically and culturally diverse community, which is exciting and vibrant, a place which will influence my children to be world class citizens. What I don't like, is that the health...

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I live in Southall and enjoy being part of an ethnically and culturally diverse community, which is exciting and vibrant, a place which will influence my children to be world class citizens. What I don't like, is that the health inequalities in the community and poverty are being compounded by FM Conway, an asphalt plant situated in Hayes, who are in breach of their operating permit, by not ensuring that their emissions to air, are free from odour. It is more than just a bad smell that the residents of Southall and Hayes experience. Many are reporting headaches, nausea, vomiting and asthma. The Mayor of London, like John McDonnell MP for Hayes, needs to place pressure on the London Borough of Hillingdon, to treat the emissions as a statutory public nuisance and issue an abatement notice as allowed under the Environmental Protection Act.

The Lancet commission on pollution and health has provided significant evidence of the link between air pollution and heart, kidney and lung diseases, type 2 diabetes and dementia.
Southall residents of South Asian and African Caribbean origin, are at greater risk of diabetes. There is also a high incidence of asthma amongst the young, as borne out by health statistics

You can read about the impact on the health of the community on www.iratecampaign.wordpress.com
The petition to force Hillingdon Council to take regulatory action can be found on Change.org
https://www.change.org/p/hillingdon-and-ealing-councils-hillingdon-and-…

The voice of a marginalized community needs to be heard by those in authority. Our right not to be polluted and suffer ill health caused by a commercial company needs to be upheld by enforcement of the relevant act of parliament.

We request that Dr Onkar Sahota AM for Ealing & Hillingdon and chair of the health committee takes action.

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Thanks everyone for sharing your views.

The end of the year is coming up. Have you given your new year resolutions some thought?

Would you be likely to make a pledge to make your and other Londoners’ health better? https://www.healthylondon.org/signup/ Would this help you stick to it?

Talk London

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In my area, I see smoking in public as being a major contributor to poor health and poor air quality (I am surprised that smoking has not featured more prominently in clean air discussions so far). It is practically impossible to walk along...

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In my area, I see smoking in public as being a major contributor to poor health and poor air quality (I am surprised that smoking has not featured more prominently in clean air discussions so far). It is practically impossible to walk along the main street of the town where I live without encountering secondhand smoke.

As people are (quite rightly) prohibited from smoking indoors in public places, smokers now smoke in the streets, outside public and private buildings. Smoking is especially concentrated outside public transport hubs, as people take the opportunity to smoke before catching a train or bus.

It would be beneficial to ban smoking in all open public spaces. Such a ban would immediately remove the problem of unwanted secondhand smoke in public areas. Additionally, a total public ban could change behaviour providing the final push towards making smoking completely unacceptable in society, with all the associated health benefits.

If a total ban is unpalatable, then at least proper enforcement of a ban on smoking within 50 metres of a train or bus station, as an example, would be very helpful.

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Car free network for walkers and cyclists is needed. http://sensiblepolitics.beep.com/carfreenetwork.htm

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Car free network for walkers and cyclists is needed. http://sensiblepolitics.beep.com/carfreenetwork.htm

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Healthy streets for people to live and bring up their children are desperately needed.There is so little consideration for this both within the Councils and the Government.Our street is overrun with rat running-making it very noisy,polluted...

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Healthy streets for people to live and bring up their children are desperately needed.There is so little consideration for this both within the Councils and the Government.Our street is overrun with rat running-making it very noisy,polluted and a stressful place to live.It used to be quiet-but we fear that the advent of apps such as WAYZ and Google Maps are pushing traffic up our streets.At the moment traffic is prioritised over people-we think this is wrong and more emphasis is needed to build more quiet ways for children to walk to school,people to walk to the shops,cyclists etc.If walking is quicker and more pleasant than driving-then fewer people will be inclined to get into their cars to make short journeys.My children love living in London but I fear for their health and safety.

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Pollution is a big problem. All the buses and black cabs in London - a lot of Uber cars are hybrids. Cleaner than the black cabs so why is TFL listening to the grievances of the greedy black cab drivers rather than doing something about our...

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Pollution is a big problem. All the buses and black cabs in London - a lot of Uber cars are hybrids. Cleaner than the black cabs so why is TFL listening to the grievances of the greedy black cab drivers rather than doing something about our clean air.
It’s costing lives and (local) government is doing nothing. Talking about 2040 to change high polluting vehicles - what planet are they on?
Stop listening to oil companies and London black cab drivers. Change your policies NOW. We deserve it.

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Hi Francesca

Thanks for sharing your views. You can help shape the policy by taking part in our air quality survey: https://www.london.gov.uk/talk-london/environment/air-quality-water, which is part of the Mayor's Environment Strategy consultation.

Talk London

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My area has become super-gentrified.

This means traffic from deliveries in vans to large numbers of building supplies. Due to increased prosperity in SW12 I regularly see 1) high powered 4 wheel drive mammoths delivering small children to...

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My area has become super-gentrified.

This means traffic from deliveries in vans to large numbers of building supplies. Due to increased prosperity in SW12 I regularly see 1) high powered 4 wheel drive mammoths delivering small children to proliferating local private schools; 2) Very high performance cars being taken out to play in the evenings - these can be Porsches, BMW M3s, Audis with DSG fast gear changing, Mercedes AMG with 6.3 litre engines many driven with maximum revs (because they've just driven over speed humps and our road is hump-less.)

This immediate area is occupied by people who have frequent nuisance noisy parties. There are frequent barbecues which give off obnoxious odours. This means we have to close the windows of our first floor flat.

Noise and pollution from building works, like extensions to kitchens, attics and basements are extremely stressful to the innocent bystanders.

Lots of new-ish people live behind electronic gates and never interact with near neighbours. including flat tennants in converted houses.

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Thanks everyone for your views and suggestions.

While the Mayor does not have direct responsibility for health services like GPs and hospitals, he does have powers for things like transports, planning, housing, economic development, culture, policing and the environment.

Bearing in mind these powers, what do you think the Mayor could do to improve health for Londoners?

Talk London

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Marylebone Station is the only mainline station in London that uses only diesel engines. The noise and pollution from these engines has increased markedly following the introduction of Class 68 locomotives, which blights the lives of the...

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Marylebone Station is the only mainline station in London that uses only diesel engines. The noise and pollution from these engines has increased markedly following the introduction of Class 68 locomotives, which blights the lives of the people who live near the station. Chiltern Railways have failed to reduce train idling times or switch to less polluting technology. The electrification of the Chiltern line should be an extreme priority.

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Good: parks, access to busses and tube
Bad: truck and car pollution. Constant noise and sirens on Holland Park Ave

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A healthy community consists of healthy individuals. One thing that improves health is regular exercise.

I used to cycle daily until I was hit by a careless driver once too often, which did rather put me off. I'm no longer willing to cycle...

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A healthy community consists of healthy individuals. One thing that improves health is regular exercise.

I used to cycle daily until I was hit by a careless driver once too often, which did rather put me off. I'm no longer willing to cycle in motor traffic, and many pavements are unsuitable for cycling, so I get less exercise now. I usually either drive or take the bus, in either case adding to the air pollution that others commenting here are worried about.

Different people have different priorities. The thing that would improve my health is a network of properly designed cycle tracks. Barnet does almost nothing to facilitate cycling.

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Where I live in Brent there are too many fried chicken shops, off licences, pubs and betting shops. This creates an atmosphere with too many unhealthy choices for people.

I would like to see an actual small supermarket down the far end of...

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Where I live in Brent there are too many fried chicken shops, off licences, pubs and betting shops. This creates an atmosphere with too many unhealthy choices for people.

I would like to see an actual small supermarket down the far end of Willesden High Road and more cafes serving healthier options. It would be great to have a butchers and bakers down here also.

Noise and vehicle pollution is a big issue along Willesden High Road and it affects my health badly. There's no gym nearby, I have to get a bus to Kilburn or Willesden Sports Centre. I'd like to see a more local gym.

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Pollution and anti social behavior for me...police are clearly over stretched and only deal with 'priority knee jerk stuff and reacting Not preventing. The amount of creeps I've endured over the years on public transport and then theres the...

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Pollution and anti social behavior for me...police are clearly over stretched and only deal with 'priority knee jerk stuff and reacting Not preventing. The amount of creeps I've endured over the years on public transport and then theres the local ' flasher'..lone women have to be on their guard. I live in the posh end of Hounslow and feel as though the area is always forgotton. Heathrow is a constant obviously. The vaguely affordable rental flats are situated on or very near the most polluted and anti social areas. Its like anywhere if your rich or sharing a 2 bed flat with 8 other people you can live on a nice street with trees, if your an average earner (heaven forbid you have dependants) & not in council you get to live on the side of the westway or M/A road in a house split into 10 bedsits. All the green spaces are at risk in my area. My local community who have paid for their own legal are always fighting the council but to no end so far. Fly tipping a huge problem and no recycling to anyone who lives in flats....so go figure....

Lack of community in a lot of areas due to transient rental living which perpetuates anti social no one cares attitudes, and unpleasent folks taking over our green spots and open spaces after working hours to deal/drink and other creepy pursuits i won't mention on here...

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I feel that pollution from car traffic and rat-running traffic is the number one priority - for our health and wellbeing, air quality and noise. Neighbourhoods which reduce the dominance of cars (by putting in infrastructure which...

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I feel that pollution from car traffic and rat-running traffic is the number one priority - for our health and wellbeing, air quality and noise. Neighbourhoods which reduce the dominance of cars (by putting in infrastructure which eliminates rat running and makes car journeys less desirable, and by installing 20 MPH limits) seem to be the healthiest and friendliest in London.

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Thanks for sharing your views so far.

Many of you have mentioned poor air quality in London. This is also part of the Environment Strategy consultation, you can have your say here: https://www.london.gov.uk/talk-london/environment/air-quality-water

What other environmental factors stop you from feeling healthy? What aspects of London's environment, or your local area have a positive impact on your health?

Does the weather have an impact for example, or noise levels?

Talk London