Prof Geraint Ellis (QUB): The Northern Ireland planning system is now primarily seen as a mechanism for coordinating and facilitating development, with the aim of delivering opportunities for economic growth. However, in managing our built environment, it also plays a major – but often unseen – role in shaping peoples’ lives by creating (or constraining) a wide range of issues that can influence health, well-being, poverty and inequality. This includes a powerful influence over access to local services, work and housing, while having a very direct impact on the form of local environments and housing standards that can affect air quality, physical activity, mental health and opportunities for healthy diets. In the context of major reform of the Northern Ireland planning system, this session explores how the planning system can be used to enhance these social outcomes and contribute more broadly to securing wider benefits to health and well-being.
