Incorporating practitioner knowledge to test and improve a new conceptual framework for healthy urban design and planning

Abstract

There are increasing arguments for bridging diverse knowledges and co-producing new knowledge between researchers, professional communities and citizens to create health-promoting built environments. The new THRIVES Framework (Towards Healthy uRbanism: InclusiVe, Equitable, Sustainable) echoes the call that healthy urbanism processes should be participatory and this principle informed the development of the Framework itself, which involved several stages of informal and formal testing with stakeholders, through a process of action research and ‘extended peer review’. Formal feedback about the design of the preliminary Framework and its implementation in built environment practice was gathered through a participatory workshop with 26 built environment and public health professionals in January 2020. Participants were encouraged to share their knowledge, ask questions, critique and provide recommendations. Overall, participants were supportive of the conceptual messages of the THRIVES Framework and more critical of the visual design of the preliminary version. They also questioned whether further resources would be required to implement the Framework. This research created a forum for stakeholders, who may typically be outside the research process, to shape the development of a conceptual framework for healthy urbanism. Further research and collaboration will create resources to bridge the gap between this new conceptualisation and practice.