Conference Agenda

Background and aim

Urban environments strongly influence opportunities for daily physical activity, which is an important determinant of mental health and psychological wellbeing. Access to green spaces, walkable neighbourhoods and safe infrastructures for active mobility facilitates regular physical activity and contributes to improved population wellbeing. Public health policies in France integrate the principles of health-promoting urban planning in order to encourage physical activity. This abstract aims to present selected public policy initiatives that mobilize urban planning and environmental design as levers to promote physical activity and, indirectly, mental health.

Methods

Health Impact Assessments (HIA) are used in urban development projects to anticipate the potential effects of planning decisions on health determinants. National and local policies promoting active mobility, notably through the Cycling and Active Mobility Plan, and through participation of local authorities of the WHO Healthy Cities Network, which promotes the integration of health considerations across urban policies. France has developed ISadOrA, a decision-support tool designed to assess the potential impacts of urban development projects on key health determinants such as physical activity, access to green spaces, air quality and social cohesion.

Results

These initiatives illustrate how urban planning policies can encourage daily physical activity by improving access to green spaces, walkable public spaces and active mobility infrastructures. Intersectoral collaboration between health authorities, urban planners, transport actors and local governments appears to be a key enabling factor for implementation. By fostering environments that are more conducive to physical activity, these policies indirectly contribute to promoting population mental health and wellbeing.