The NHS has announced that they intend to build ten new “healthy towns” designed to get people to exercise more, eat healthier and be capable of living independently in older age.
The towns will include more than 76,000 affordable homes. The areas will be fast-food free, will include safe green spaces, “dementia-friendly” streets and easily accessible health services.
According to Mashable, the areas are intended to tackle some of Britains health epidemics, including obesity and dementia. The zones will house approximately 170,000 residents.
NHS boss Simon Stevens spoke about the initiative in a speech to The King’s Inn Fund. He said:
“The genesis of this was the recognition that this country needs more affordable housing and so it would be a huge missed opportunity if the NHS was not at the table in those conversations to design in health from the start into the built environment and into the way these new neighbourhoods operate.
“All too often the NHS has come too late to the party when these kinds of developments have been going on around the country.
“I think we will kick ourselves if in 10 years’ time we look back on what would have been a spurt of a new community and housing development and wonder why we were MIA at that party.
“We are trying to design out the obesogenic environment for our kids, we are trying to design in more support for independent living for older people.”
A recent WHO report revealed the extent of Britain’s growing obesity crisis, with figures suggesting that 74% of men and 64% of women will be overweight by 2030.
The developments are expected to be completed in 2030.
