Can the impact on health of a government policy designed to create more liveable neighbourhoods be evaluated? An overview of the RESIDential Environment Project.
There is growing interest in the impact of community design on the health of residents. In 1998, the Western Australian Government began a trial of new subdivision design codes (i.e. Liveable Neighbourhoods Community Design Code) aimed at creating pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods to increase walking, cycling and public transport use. The trial provided a unique opportunity for a natural experiment to evaluate the impact of a government planning policy on residents. Nevertheless, evaluations of this kind present a number of methodological challenges in obtaining the highest quality evidence possible. This paper describes the RESIDential Environment Project's study design and discusses how various methodological challenges were overcome.
Giles-Corti
Billie
B
School of Population Health, University of Western Australia. billie.giles-corti@uwa.edu.au
Knuiman
Matthew
M
Pikora
Terri J
TJ
Van Neil
Kimberly
K
Timperio
Anna
A
Bull
Fiona C L
FC
Shilton
Trevor
T
Bulsara
Max
M
D002958:City Planning; D003153:Community Health Services; D019058:Community Networks; D004779:Environment Design; D006076:Government; D033161:Government Regulation; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health; D011640:Public Policy; D017150:Public Sector; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health; D014904:Western Australia