Managing New Fast-food Outlets Around Schools: An Evaluation of a Public Health Planning Intervention in 35 Urban Regions of England
Abstract：
Since the early 2000s, urban planning in the United Kingdom has seen a renewed focus on population health. The role of built environments in shaping our behaviors and health is now formally recognized in national planning guidance. Supporting people to lead healthy lives is now day-to-day business for the modern urban planner in this context. According to national planning guidelines, planners can already take action on fast food retail in particular, which has been associated with poor health. But the decision to act is local. One of the most commonly adopted planning interventions for health across England was fast-food outlet management zones around schools. These are areas where, on health grounds, planning permission can be denied to prospective fast-food retailers, thereby reducing future population exposure to this important source of typically unhealthy food. In this commentary, the author summarizes early findings from an NIHR-funded evaluation of the impacts of management zones across all instances of adoption, over the period of more than a decade in England. The author also shares some observations on the current urban planning system in England as a form of public health intervention, including how it might evolve to fulfill its potential in this role.