City Futures Research Centre Arts, Design and Architecture

Murrumbidgee Local Health District

Organisation name Murrumbidgee Local Health District
Organisation type Governmental organisation
Organisation fields
  • Health
Description The health promotion unit within the MLHD coordinates a number of prevention programs in the areas of falls prevention, healthy weight and tobacco. We have also recently commenced some work in the Healthy Built Environment, making submissions and advocating for healthy design principles in projects with councils and other organisations.
Commenced Work Six months to two years ago
Type(s) of HBE Activity
  • Advocacy for healthy built environments
Key objectives of HBE activities
  • To improve people's physical health
  • To increase people's physical activity level
  • To strengthen social capital
  • To reduce pollution from traffic
  • To promote active transport (walking, cycling, public transport)
  • To improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists
  • To reduce crime through more people on the streets / passive surveillance
The organisation addresses the following areas of work in relation to getting people active
  • Promoting walking for daily travel / recreation
  • Promoting cycling for daily travel / recreation
  • Providing public open space
  • Providing recreational facilities / playgrounds
  • Improving safety from traffic for pedestrians and cyclists
  • Providing facilities such as toilets, drinking fountains, shelter etc.
  • Improving residential and commercial densities, land use mix
  • Improving connectivity
The organisation addresses the following areas of work in relation to strengthening and connecting communities
  • Advocating for places where people can meet and connect
  • Input into planning processes that advocate for and strengthen social connectivity
  • Influencing the location of facilities within a community to ensure they are convenient, central and clustered with other facilities
  • Promoting equitable access to community facilities
  • Promoting interaction in public spaces including gardens, town squares, parks and lively streetscapes
  • Encouraging supportive social networks within neighbourhoods and participation in decision-making
  • Influencing proximity to places of employment
The organisation addresses the following areas of work in relation to providing access to healthy food
  • Mapping food service locations (including fast food outlets, access to fresh fruit and vegetables and vending machines)
  • Advocating/supporting facilities (e.g. water fountains, community gardens, fresh food markets and allotments, breastfeeding locations etc.)
  • Supporting local food production (e.g., through zoning and land use regulation)
The organisation takes part in the following specific HBE activities The main strategies we have been working on recently include keeping a watching brief on plans, proposals and significant development applications. When these are identified we aim to anaylse these using the HUDC and provide comments back to agencies to strenghten the plan from the heallth perpective, especially in regards to access to healthy food, physical activity and connectedness.
Target Population
  • General population
Geographic Focus of HBE activities
  • Rural areas
  • Other - The LGAs within the MLHD.
Website http://www.mlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/