Closing Remarks... For Now

Although I began this blog as part of a University project I have enjoyed it and will possibly continue to use it talking about other aspects of planning including health.

In my final post I would like to emphasise on what I said in my first post.... nobody cares about health. I have regularly put up posts about health and its relation to planning but have not received any comments. I have received views from all over the world, showing interest but no comments. This is not very surprising. Planning is a profession that is aimed at changing people and changing behaviours and currently, only some people consider health as being important because our lives have revolved around the easy and not the hard. We must change people's behaviours to health and I can ensure that there are others like me who believe that, although a certain level of personal determination is essential, planners need to be vital drivers in ensuring health considerations is a considerable part of our everyday lives.

To me, this indicates one thing, that health and planning are often considered to be different elements of our world, however, people are not realising the significance of health in our growing urban and globalised environments.

I would like to acknowledge all of my sources once again and also our course Professor Dory Reeves for turning me onto blogging, which I do enjoy when I have free time. I will keep stressing on the importance of health in planning in my future years as a student and as a professional to bring about greater awareness to the degree of control planners have in bettering peoples lives, in terms of health.

So remember, 'you are what you eat' and 'you don't get something from nothing.'

(Source: Google Images, 2011)

(Source: Google Images, 2011)

Get some good motivation... no matter where you find it. Think about it, you will need cardio eventually because if you've seen the movie Zombieland, the number 1 survival rule is.... CARDIO !!

(Source: Google Images, 2011)

Small Community Battles - Te Hana

Small community initiatives are one thing but when a small community, north of Auckland, change their existence and lifestyle it is amazingly inspiring. The Te Hana community has fought to right their wrongs and instill a degree of hope within their community. They have battled through a degraded social image which may have seen the small community abandoned (Te Hana CDC Trust, 2006). What makes it more inspirational is that, to get this far, they have had no government funding and still have been very successful in achieving their dreams.

Image of the Te Hana community at its worst (Source: Te Hana CDC Trust, 2006)

Things have changed, however, the community has been led by the Te Hana Community Development Trust, established in 2002, and has become a unique tourist destination providing an authentic Maori experience, only one hour from the Auckland CBD.

Check out some photos of this beautiful place outside the clutter of Auckland. 

A view from the Marae (Source: Arias, A., 2011).

New Pa site displaying their ancestor's, Princess Te Hana, story (Source: Arias, A., 2011)

The newly developed modern Marae (Source: Arias, A., 2011)

Traditional Maori village developed by the Te Hana CDC Trust (Source: Arias, A., 2011).

Te Hana's relation to health can be seen because to escape the fast-paced Auckland CBD, this type of experience is necessary for relaxation to occur. As mentioned before it is only an hour out of Auckland providing Aucklanders convenience to a serene place with great people, great culture and a place where relaxation can occur. These types of 'getaways' every once in a while can be important to the mental health of people and in this case, a small rural community like Te Hana has created a brilliant, vibrant place for people to relieve mental stress. 

The Te Hana community has also redeveloped their area with a focus on the health of their community. This, to me, is inspirational because, not only are they creating a brighter future for their children but, they are also addressing many facets of life including the health of their community members. To think, such a small community can come so far is amazing and reassuring. Some of Te Hana's health related projects have included:

• Bettering the sewerage treatment and drinking water facilities;
• Encouraging exercise through community classes;
• Supporting the PushPlay programme;
• Improving exercise facilities, such as sports fields, basketball courts etc;
• Promoting child health checks in all schools in the area;
• Promoting a 'Well Child Health Programme'; and
• Reducing smoking in their community

So next time you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Auckland, or if you want to see another side of Auckland, drive up to Te Hana and make a day of it. It provides a relief from mental stress in a place where the air is fresh, the people are friendly and the world is seen in a new light.

Check out this video of Te Hana's journey that my group members and I prepared for a project for one of our Planning papers...

(Acknowledgments to my team members Angela Taganahan, Simon Mitchell, Steven Sanson and Sophie Elwood and myself, Jayesh Parekh.)

References:

• Arias, A. (2011): "Personal Photos."
• Te Hana Community Development Charitable (CDC) Trust (2006): "Te Hana/Oruawharo Community Plan" http://www.zartaj.co.nz/development/tehana.co.nz/uploads/file/Te%20HanaCommunityOutcomePlanReport7_Revisedcopy_090507.pdf (Accessed: 16/04/11).

Good Practice - Instilling Health in Parks

I have found an awesome example of good healthy design practices in Auckland. These facilities are up to date, well designed, convenient and also used heavily by all members of the public. This park is located on the North Shore and I was surprised to see the level of design which has gone into this development focusing on health and exercise.

Leg Press Machine (Source: Taganahan, A., 2011)

The AirWalker, similar to a Cross Trainer (Source: Taganahan, A., 2011).

Machine that works your back, legs, arms and chest (Source: Taganahan, A., 2011).

Personally these machines are a lot more appealing than what was done in Michaels Ave in Ellerslie. However, this seems to show the level of development that can occur if people manage to emphasise on health in parks management and planning. I believe these types of developments is what can make significant strides towards creating awareness about health in planning.

Here are a few examples from cities around the world...

Los Angeles..

AirWalkers installed in a 'Healthy Parks' programme in LA (Source: LA County - Parks and Recreation, 2004)

Washington D.C

New Developments at the Marvin Gaye Park, promoting youth physical activity (Source: Trowbridge, 2010)

Healthy Parks Healthy People programme established by the NSW Government to improve "mental and physical health by spending more time in parks" (Centennial Parklands, 2009).

Creation of parks which are more attractive allows for people to spend more time there (Source: Centennial Parklands, 2009) 

These are only two examples of how parks can be used to promote healthy living and well beings of people. There also seems to be a growing interest by Governments in what types of developments can be done in parks to encourage its use for health purposes.

Here are a few examples of machines that can be used...

                      Sitting Rotator (Source: Outdoor Fitness Inc, 2010)

      Back Extension (Source: Outdoor Fitness Inc, 2010).

Weight Lift (Source: Outdoor Fitness Inc, 2010)

Sit-up Board (Outdoor Fitness Inc, 2010)

References:

• Centennial Parklands (2009): "Centennial Parklands" http://www.upiu.com/health/2010/06/23/Inner-city-needle-park-turned-community-health-catalyst/UPIU-8291277314109/ (Accessed: 30/05/11).
• LA County - Parks and Recreation (2004): "Parks and Recreation" http://parks.lacounty.gov/Parkinfo.asp?URL=HealthyPark.asp&Title=Healthy%20Parks (Accessed: 30/05/11).
• Outdoor Fitness Inc (2010): "Outdoor Fitness Equipment" http://www.outdoor-fitness.com/ (Accessed: 30/05/11).
• Taganahan, A. (2011): "Personal Photos."
• Trowbridge, J. (2010): "Inner City 'Needle Park' Tuned Community Health Catalyst" http://www.upiu.com/health/2010/06/23/Inner-city-needle-park-turned-community-health-catalyst/UPIU-8291277314109/ (Accessed: 30/05/11).

Outdated Practice - Healthy Environment Design

Michaels Avenue Reserve in Ellerslie, Auckland, is a good example of the efforts of the previous Auckland City Council body, as they attempted to create a 'Fitness Trail' around the Michaels Ave. Reserve. In my opinion, although the equipment is outdated and not very inviting to use, it was a good initiative to help people get in tune with their health at the time, however, it has not been maintained or upgraded in any way whatsoever. I wonder if they even remember if this 'Fitness Trail' exists anymore.

Michaels Ave. Fitness Trail (Source: Parekh, 2011)

There are some pro's of the development, however, which should be recognised. These include:

• The Fitness Trail was constructed around the entire reserve building an element of cardio vascular exercise into basic strength training using your own body weight;
• There are a range of different exercises that can help to build and maintain different muscles;



Push Up Bars (Source: Parekh, 2011).

Map of Fitness Trail around the reserve with the range of different exercises outlined (Source: Parekh, 2011).

• In an open space, which is relatively visible during a nice sunny day; and
• Signs encourage users to START SLOW and also how to do they exercises.

Leg and Ab Stretch Sign indicating a beginners and advanced level workout (Source: Parekh, 2011).

These are some very important pro's of the Michaels Ave Reserve Fitness Trail, however, there are also many con's as well. These include:

• No maintenance of the equipment;
• Some equipment is dangerous (like a balance beam which was just a plank of wood);
• Signs have faded and have been damaged;
• The information on the signs only asks a person to do ONE set of exercises per 'fitness stop,' which may not even be enough to warm up a major muscle group; and
• To some extent, many people may not even see it because it is not visible from the main entry near the Ellerslie YMCA.

Plank of Wood as a 'Balance Beam' (Source: Parekh, 2011).

Beginning of the Trail (Source: Parekh, 2011)

Faded sign makes it difficult to understand what to do here (Source: Parkeh, 2011)

All in all, I believe the 'Fitness Trail' was good practice, which has become outdated. When I participated in the trail I completed it within 20 minutes, using the guidelines provided on the signs. I did observe, however, that the trail is used a lot by children and also senior citizens, which was reassuring to see. For this reason, I would say that the idea is awesome and is, to some extent, working but the trail needs to be upgraded and more investment is required.

Healthy Design Principles

There are a few healthy design principles that have been developed to help work towards a healthy future for people. These include:

• Active Transport - "non-motorised forms of transport, including walking and cycling"

Example of Good Active Transport Practices (Source: Google Images, 2011)

Example of Bad Active Transport Practices (Source: Google Images, 2011)

• More Aesthetic Environments - bettering the quality of places to encourage walking and cycling

An Aesthetic Environment (Source: Healthy Places and Spaces AU, 2011)

• Connectivity - the "directness of travel between destinations"

Connected Environments (Source: Healthy Places and Spaces AU, 2011)

• Mixed Land Uses - locating varying land uses "together in a balanced mix"
• Increasing Safety and Surveillance
• Mixed Density Establishments - "providing a choice of housing types, maximise infrastructure and land and support the provision of public transport"

 Healthy Places and Spaces, 2011

This is only a short list of design principles used by urban planners today, however, these concepts are not new. This is because these principles have been embedded in design concepts well before the 21st century, like Peter Carlthorpe's Pedestrian Pocket theory, Ian Bentleys 'Responsive Environment' concepts and also Transport Oriented Development (TDM). The only difference between these 'modern' principles and the works of previous planning and design gurus, is that now these principles are being established to focus on health rather than creating pockets of economy or a better sense of place. 

To some extent, this aspect seems to show how health can overlap with other aims and issues.

References:

Healthy Places and Spaces AU (2011): "Design Principles" http://www.healthyplaces.org.au/site/design.php (Accessed: 22/05/11).

The Future of Health Concerns in Auckland...

When I started this blog I knew the implications of considering health in our modernised world, as there is often a focus on other issues that the country is facing.

This leads me to the question... where does the future lie for health concerns in Auckland?

If current documents were to be considered the establishment of the new Auckland Council does not provide a good indication of where 'health' is considered in the Auckland context. The Auckland Plan Discussion Document have a number of sections which include:

• People and Quality of Life
• People and Economy
• People and Environment
• People and Place
• People and Infrastructure

Source: Google Images, 2011

Well, the Auckland Council has got one thing right, which is that the spatial plan is focused around people (Council of Europe, 1983: 13). However, one of peoples biggest concern is not included, and this is health. To some extent, adding spatial dimension to the health issue in Auckland would have been an adequate start to get the idea into peoples minds and, more importantly, into the minds of planners. It can be safe to say that the health issue is going to get worse if no action is taken, making health an issue of the future that should have been focused on in the past.

This critique of the Auckland Plan Discussion Document is, however, subject to what actually appears in the official Auckland Plan, to be adopted later this year. Some have said that health will be included, but it will be interesting to see to what extent health issues, and a focus on addressing this issue, is emphasised on.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Source: Google Images, 2011

References:

Council of Europe (1983): "Torremolinos Charter" http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/heritage/cemat/versioncharte/Charte_bil.pdf (Accessed: 13/05/11).

A Possible Way Forward? The Australian 'Healthy' Approach

Not surprisingly (in my opinion anyway) Australia lead us in the field of health planning and evidence of this is the appointment of the 'Preventative Health Taskforce' by the Australian Government in April 2008 (Moroney, 2009: 12). This body has been created to help Australians with their health issues and one of their main targets to fix these issues is urban planning.

Urban planning and design does have a significant influence, and also an obligation, to create "healthy urban environments, which increase levels of physical activity and decrease sedentary behaviour" (Moroney, 2009: 12). This aspect has been adopted in Australia to encourage healthy living through the betterment of urban planning, "identified as a key driver of obesity" (Moroney, 2009: 12). In my opinion, this is definitely a step towards the right direction because for years the issue of health has been filed down to individual will-power.

To some extent this might be true, but why has this 'mindset' to not live healthy occurred? Why is it that people don't see exercise as part of their daily routine? In my opinion, there has been a lack of emphasis on health within the urban planning framework.

Australia has realised this and the 'Healthy Spaces and Places' project has indicated to planners and other design professionals that they are critical contributors to the health of Australians (Moroney, 2009: 13). One of the most crucial benefits of such programs is that it reduces financial costs associated with preventable diseases/illnesses.

Is this enough reasoning to adopt such approaches?

The real question would be why wouldn't you adopt such approaches, as has been done in Australia? Lets face it, the current approaches don't work and there is growing evidence, within multiple westernised societies, that creating attractive and well-designed public spaces has health benefits and does encourage people to do active things, like walking and cycling (Healthy Places and Spaces AU, 2011).




Source: Google Images, 2011


 Good idea? I think so. These types of spaces are ideal for our world. Just think, if these appraoches were adopted a few decades ago, would the world be in the environmental strife it is now? Governments around the world are encouraging clean/green systems, more use of public transport and even hybrid cars but just imagine the benefits on the environment if design approaches, like the one used in Australia, were utilised? The car-dependent environments that have been created need to be changed and a focus on health of citizens, in this regard, is possibly the best way to better the lives of people and also possibly contributing to environmental issues.

All in all, good one Ozzy's we going to have to give this point to you guys (Not come World Cup time though)

Heres a link to the 'Healthy Places and Spaces' organisation.

http://www.healthyplaces.org.au/site/index.php

References:

• Healthy Spaces AU (2011): "Healthy Places and Places" http://www.healthyplaces.org.au/site/index.php (Accessed 10/05/11).
• Moroney, A. (2009): "Healthy Spaces and Places" Australian Planner, 46(2)

Dreadmills.....

Ok, so the name is a bit of a bad joke, but watch this video of people who utilised treadmills to the best of their abilities?

Once again, use the equipment for what its meant to do and when your doing cardio? Start slow, don't follow these eager exercisers and jump straight into it

Enjoy..

Peculiar Approach? Malaysian Child Obesity

I stumbled upon an interesting article today about how Malaysia is aiming to make the issue of child obesity more aware to families. Interestingly enough, Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai has backed up and enacted including a childs weight in their school report cards.... wierd i know, but an interesting tactic in all respects.

Schools across Malaysia are going to grade students based on their weight, in the form of Body Mass Index (BMI), which will allow parents to consider whether their children need a wake up call in terms of diet and exercise.

Child Obesity is an epidemic (Source: Wayne, 2009)

A very peculiar approach indeed, but the benefits of it seem quite obvious. Malaysia have banned sugary drinks and junk food from their school cafeterias and this solves the issue at school. This new appraoch, however, seems to give parents a wake up call and gives them the remote control to help fix child obesity in Malaysia. This, from a planning perspective, makes sense theoretically but in actual practice will they suceed? This is yet to be seen but past experiences have shown that these types of initiatives work to a very limited extent and only become relevant to some people. For example, parents whose children are extremely obese will get a much needed wake up call, however, those who may be classified as 'slightly overweight' or just 'overweight' may not see the importance behind the issue. Just a thought, but along with this move there needs to be more involvement and education behind child, and eventual adult, obesity so that the importance of these 'weight grades' can be realised.

Heres the link to the article

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10720398

Reference:

Photo: Wayne, M. (2009): "Obesity in Children" http://www.lowdensitylifestyle.com/media/uploads/2009/11/obesity_41.jpg (Accessed: 19/04/11).

Interesting Find....

A very positive discovery, in terms of initiatives to improve the health and well-being of people.

Established by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, a nutritional programme called....

' Healthy Kai '

Healthy Kai Programme (Source: Auckland Regional Public Health Service ADHB, 2007)

This programme was aimed at vulnerable communities such as Otara, Glen Eden, Glen Innes and Mangere. It was aimed at reducing obesity through nutritional management and also aimed to lower occurrences of cardio-vascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. The programme aimed to get into the 'HEART' of these communities, the community town centres. The programme worked with programme partners (retailers) who promoted and increased "availability of healthy kai choices" (Auckland Regional Public Health Service ADHB, 2007).

What is more amazing to see is that the initiatives have been transferred into community ownership.

• Mangere Community Health Trust
• Otara Health Trust Inc.
• The Sanctuary, Glen Eden (Glen Innes)
• HealthWest PHO (Glen Eden)

http://www.arphs.govt.nz/nutrition%20and%20healthy%20eating/healthykai.asp

A Forgotten Strategy ?

I stubbled across something very interesting!! A 'New Zealand Health Strategy 2000.' Yes, it has been over 10 years since this document has been published and not many people have even heard of it.

This strategy focuses on all aspects of health including, lowering suicide rates, improving oral health and reducing the impact of cancer, among many others. Ok, fair enough, a good broad scope providing local authorities and wide-view into the problems associated with the ENTIRE health sector.

In this document, the Ministry of Health (MoH) support and stress on the fact that inequalities have a massive impact on the health and well-being of people (MoH, 2000: 4). This is also recognised in the document as a priority that should be reduced (MoH, 2000: 13).

Many of the high priority objectives include;

• reducing smoking
• improving nutrition
• reducing inequalities
• reducing obesity
• increasing the level of physical activity
• and many others

(MoH, 2000: 13)

In many cases, there are some aspects as a result of this strategy (which can be seen as a planning document) that have been focused on greatly since the year 2000. These include:

• Smoking Reduction Actions : we've all seen the advertisements on TV, media coverage of the issue, the sick images on smoking packages, national campaign supported by other media (phone service/support, websites/forums and subsidies)

Smoke Free TV campaign using famous faces and names to help people quit (Source: Capital and Coast DHB, 2008)

Pictures on Cigarette Packages (Source: News Medical, 2007)

• Improving Nutrition : only recently have I really seen the advertisements on TV into good food and nutrition but it is constantly covered as an issue in NZ communities. It is also related greatly to inequalities in society (refer to previous blog post).

• Reducing Obesity and Improving Physical Activity : once again, media advertisements and programmes being launched (SPARC 30 Minutes push play) to help both these aspects and it has been presented to a specific target audience (refer to previous blog post)

Most Recent 'Push Play Initiative' (Source: SPARC, 2011)

Many of the inequalities identified relate to Maori health, as they have been identified as the most affected by severe health issues in NZ (MoH, 2000: 18). Many of the solutions proposed by central Government at the time was aimed at educating Maori, and Pasifika, on health and well-being issues.

The document goes onto indicate that it is only an "overarching framework for action on health" and that  it "does not identify how specific priority objectives or services will be addressed" (MoH, 2000: 31). This seems to indicate that the document is basically a wordy document which reports on issues but has no real plan of action. This may, however, be suitable because it is a national strategy and the idea of 'local issues, local solutions' need to be applied to individual areas.

All in all, a really good indication by the Government, however, it is a planning document that doe snot seem to have much significance in NZ. A reason this has not been updated is maybe because there has been slow progress on the issue and many of the stats are still similar. Only an assumption but something to think about....

On The Lighter Side....

Exercise can be just as dangerous to your well-being than no exercise ........

Check out this video of.... 'exercise enthusiasts'

Just remember, use the equipment for what its meant to do and you should be fine. :D

Simple Breakdown into Nutrition

Nutrition is an aspect of exercise and health that is constantly stressed upon. Many experts and exercise gurus say that nutrition is 80-90% and training and exercise is 10-20% (Articles Base, 2005).

Even Ronald is getting into exercise, not too sure about his eating though....

Jacosta, 2009

In terms of a 'planning' approach to this, evidence can be seen in the policy documents created to address nutritional issues. BUT, put simply, they don't work! Even with these policy documents, many people still opt for getting the $2 chips and deep fried chicken from Otara Town Centre as part of their daily nutrition.

This is definitely a planning solution gone wrong. Lets face it the documents and guidelines don't work. Why?

Many would say that these 'guidelines' are not promoted in communities where the health of people are under threat. In a earlier post, I showed the importance of promotion with the relatively successful SPARC initiative. This is an example of good promotion.

Currently there are advertisements on TV showing how families can educate their children on good eating habits rather than digging into the KFC. But is this working? In some cases, yes definitely, these advertisements are making a difference to SOME people but, from my experience, there are still a huge number of people in communities who prefer the bad stuff rather than the good.

Once again, I ask WHY?

MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEEEY!!!

Explore New Zealand, 2009

Bad nutrition is CHEAP!! It is easier, for some people, to buy $2 chips for lunch than pay, for example, $10 for a nutritious meal. This, however, is understandable because many people struggle to achieve basic necessities and rarely do they care about their own health and well-being until its too late.

More to come.....

The National Approach

Lets face it, anyone who knows anything about the health sector and encouraging physical activity can safely say that central government has done nothing but prepare endless amounts of policy documents showing little improvements and huge backtracks on the issue. Some policies and reports include:

• Food and Nutrition Guidelines
• Healthy Eating, Healthy Action Plan, 2004-2010 (NOT THAT BAD REALLY)
• Clinical Guidelines for Weight Management in New Zealand Adults, 2009
• and more.... surprisingly

Perhaps the most effective policy initiative Central Government has put forward is the Push Play initiative through SPARC, which stemmed from the 'Obstacles to Action' research study conducted for SPARC in 2004.

Source: SPARC, 2011

Why was this effective??

Why not? This initiative had great promotion and its no coincidence that the face of this initiative was a well-known Pacific Islander, Robbie Magasiva. This campaign was a relative success because of its target audience. Yes, other ethnic groups were targeted because the guy campaigning for it was a fit and down to earth role model who anyone could look up to and recognise. 

In my opinion good job to SPARC and Robbie!

Why Health?

Everyone must be wondering why I would be focussing on health and considering health as an issue to do with planning when so many other things are wrong with this world, right?

But why not? Health is something which has endangered our lives for decades but its something which just seems to be swept under the rug. Many countries have issue with obesity including NZ, with statistics indicating that our most vulnerable ethnic groups are Pasifika and Maori people....

Source: Ministry of Social Development, 2010

So how does planning relate to changing the health of people?

Planning has a huge impact and influence on the health and well-being of all people in communities. This can be done by policy (aimed at changing peoples behaviour) and also by design techniques and principles which have been used for decades.

Only a short and simple answer, more to come.