Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

06 Theme A: Health in
Sustainable Communities
Chapter summary
Theme A is concerned with Health in sustainable communities. This is a particular challenge in the
East of England given the pace of population growth and the pressure on resources. Three Strategic
Priorities are identified, together with appropriate Actions:
• Strategic Priority 1: To ensure that the social, economic and environmental foundations of
healthy lifestyles are designed creatively into new and existing communities in the East of England
• Strategic Priority 2: To provide infrastructure and sustained support to build social capital,
particularly among those communities (geographical communities, communities of interest
and potentially vulnerable groups) which are experiencing poor health outcomes
• Strategic Priority 3: To make it possible for communities to ‘Choose Health’ positively
and more easily
6.1 Health is – or should be – an integral element of sustainable communities. The new UK Sustainable
Development Strategy sets out some of the most important requirements of sustainable communities;
these are summarised in Figure 6.1 below.
Figure 6.1: What makes Sustainable Communities? 94
Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the future.
They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment,
and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run,
and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all.
Sustainable communities should be:
• Active, inclusive and safe – fair, tolerant and cohesive with a strong local culture and other
shared community activities
• Well run – with effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership
• Environmentally sensitive – providing places for people to live that are considerate
of the environment
• Well designed and built – featuring a good quality built and natural environment
• Well connected – with good transport services and communication linking people to jobs,
schools, health and other services
• Thriving – with a flourishing and diverse local economy
• Well served – with public, private, community and voluntary services that are appropriate
to people’s needs and accessible to all
• Fair for everyone – including those in other communities, now and in the future
94 Securing the Future: Delivering UK Sustainable Development Strategy, HM Government, 2005 (Crown copyright).
A Regional Health Strategy for the East of England 65