In 2011, the Healthy Built Environments Program completed a major scholarly literature review examining the role of the built environment in supporting human health as part of everyday living. The principal aim of the Review was to establish an evidence base that supports the development, prioritisation and implementation of healthy built environment policies and practices. The Review identifies current gaps in the evidence to inform future research directions. It includes an annotated bibliography of key research articles and a glossary of terms to assist practitioners, policy makers and researchers working in this interdisciplinary realm. In 2012, the Literature Review won the Cutting Edge Research and Teaching Award from the Planning Institute of Australia. Click
for more information about the award.
The focus of the Review is on the three key built environment domains that support human health:
These built environment domains address three of the major risk factors for contemporary chronic disease - physical inactivity, social isolation and obesity.
The Literature Review is available for download as the whole document or its individual sections.
Cover and Acknowledgements (1.11MB)
List of Abbreviations and Contents (2.11MB)
The Healthy Built Environments Program Overview (291KB)
Executive Summary (295KB)
1.0 Introduction (255KB)
2.0 Structure of this Review (2.46MB)
3.0 Aims and Parameters (2.99MB)
4.0 Scope and Methodology (3.20MB)
5.0 The Evidence (200KB)
5.1 The Built Environment and Getting People Active (653KB)
5.2 The Built Environment and Connecting and Strengthening Communities (546KB)
5.3 The Built Environment and Providing Healthy Food Options (416KB)
6.0 Professional Development (284KB)
7.0 Conclusion (114KB)
Appendix 1: Diary of Database Searches (202KB)
Appendix 2: Glossary (282KB)
Appendix 3: Annotated Bibliography (2.57MB)
The Healthy Built Environments Program undertakes regular reviews of new literature relating to the three key domains of healthy built environments – Getting People Active, Connecting and Strengthening Communities and Providing Healthy Food Options. Keep up-to-date with the fortnightly literature reviews by clicking on the list below.