Urban Planning and Lifestyle with Marcus Grant

The Healthy Cities Network was delighted to be joined by Marcus Grant at our 2nd transnational meeting in February. 

Grant is the Editor-in-Chief of Cities & Health, the only journal in the world that focuses on supporting both population and planetary health, as well as health equity, through the design, planning, management, and governance of cities.

In his presentation on urban planning and lifestyle, Grant emphasises how health can be created with urban planning. He reminds us that health is a holistic concept and not simply the absence of illness, while also highlighting the importance of considering health equity in urban planning. 

Additionally, he unpacks the concept of “lifestyle”. Modern debates are transitioning to the term “behaviour” as “lifestyle” is often considered a choice while behaviour is more influenced by your environment, making this a more accurate term in the context of urban planning. 

Grant shares two examples to demonstrate his approach, one on mixed-use developments and one on the process of street design. Rather than keeping the focus on the current state in urban design, he emphasises the importance of reaching beyond the what to the how - how did this evolve and how can we improve it?

For in-depth insights from one of the field’s renowned experts, watch the full presentation here.