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).