This was the rallying call that emerged from the second meeting of the Expert Panel, where presentations were provided from our four sub-groups.

The group discussed that if health is the outcome, then wellbeing is the means.  Inspired by the work of Lord Nigel Crisp, it was felt that as built environment professionals we must look beyond treating health, or even preventing it, and focus on health creation.    

It was agreed a ‘health creating city’ needs to be the overarching vision for London, delivered through a framework approach (versus detailed standards). Any approach must however connect to the local context with some measurable criteria and therefore be scalable.

The Healthy City (Key Cities, 2022) was discussed and whether this, and the ‘Health First Principle’ that it promotes, presented a potential way forward.  Allied to this is the case that wellbeing should overarch all NLA expert panels

Also discussed was the key role of policy makers and the emerging ‘London Wellbeing and Sustainability Measure’, an interactive tool for policymakers and all Londoners, and due to be launched by the GLA this Spring.  There may be an opportunity to further develop and hone this approach for the specific needs of the built environment. 

A plethora of frameworks, guidelines and standards exist, and it is sometimes difficult to know where to turn.  The sub-group has been exploring this and undertaking some high-level comparative analysis.  

A patchwork quilt has emerged with different approach across different parts of London and elsewhere, e.g. in relation to the use of the Home Quality Mark, BREEAM and The WELL Building Standard.

Also, and despite the growing focus on wellbeing, some key issues were being lost.  For example, if it is the case that we spend up to 90% of our time indoors, then we need to prioritise our homes, offices, schools etc, and taking a human-centric approach allows us to start with the individual and move outwards through the home, street, neighbourhood etc.   The push towards low carbon conversion is leading us to look more closely at interiors, but is there enough oversight to ensure wellbeing is optimised? 

To further exasperate this, there is an insufficient focus on our existing building stock as only around 5% of this gets replaced every year.   Post occupancy is another concern, there is too little focus on this crucial area.  

Health inequality is one of our biggest challenges, and any Wellbeing Vision and Framework for London must not lose sight of the main health problems that Londoners experience, especially within minority and underrepresented groups.  Social impact and mobility must be a central focus.    

Establishing the right wellbeing framework will allow design criteria to be established, and good case studies identified.  The sub-group have begun to explore best practice by loosely intertwining wellbeing with the RIBA work stages.

The group discussed the pros and cons of taking this approach, versus applying framework pillars, and the need to reach out to developer and investor contacts to understand some of the bespoke commitments, charters and KPI’s already employed, like the Flourishing Index being used at Brent Cross Town.     

It is crucial that an approach to place is developed in the right way to support wellbeing.  Civil partnerships between landowners, authorities and communities bring local people into developments.  Its not always clear whose responsibility is it to initiate this collaboration.   

Long term stewardship and ownership of place is vital and communities who live in these areas must have ownership, responsibility, and management overview.  

These are the key ingredients to promote wellbeing and create health.