Healthy cities transitions
Seeking to produce evidence that can inform transitions to healthy cities, where people can engage in active living in community, home, work and transport settings.
Urban form (including attributes of buildings and neighbourhoods) shapes human behaviour. Sedentary lifestyles, which are currently dominant in our society, are known to increase the risk of obesity and chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. This research theme aims to identify specific design that may be modified to address physical inactivity, time spent sitting and health risk. Our ultimate goal is to assist policymakers and practitioners to make informed decisions that will enhance community and population health.
Our interdisciplinary research covers public health, epidemiology, behavioural science, data science, urban planning/design, geography and transport.
Our studies include:
- neighbourhood built environments, physical activity, other health-related behaviours and health outcomes
- urban green spaces, community gardens, sociability and health
- behaviour and health in changing workplace environments
- active and sedentary travel behaviours and their health impacts
- environmental approaches to reducing health inequalities.
Program leader
Current projects
Due to urbanisation, cities in Australia and around the world are experiencing population increases, which can be accommodated by increasing population density (densification) or by expanding city boundaries with low-density developments (urban sprawling). These options have varying health implications — physical activity can be encouraged in the former, whereas car use is more dominant in the latter. This project examines how different ways of urbanisation can impact health through multiple behavioural pathways. We seek to gather evidence that can inform strategies for using urbanisation as an opportunity to enhance health in the population.
Investigators: Dr Manoj Chandrabose, Professor Takemi Sugiyama and Professor Neville Owen.
Contact
Dr Manoj Chandrabose
Urban green space is an important community resource for health. It can confer health benefits through facilitating physical activity, contact with nature and social interaction. However, urban green space differs in size and features, and people use different parks for different purposes. The research is not currently clear about what aspects of urban green space need to be improved to increase park visitors and which parks need to be improved to increase community-level physical activity.
Investigators: Professor Takemi Sugiyama, Dr Jonathan Kingsley, Dr Nyssa Hadgraft, Dr Manoj Chandrabose, Professor Neville Owen and Professor Niki Frantzeskaki.
Contact
Professor Takemi Sugiyama
Urban gardening activities (such as community, school, hospital and home gardens) provide a way of re-imagining cities. Although there are potential public health implications of urban gardening activities, a coherent narrative on the benefits of gardening is lacking regarding the specific impacts on individuals and the whole community. Calls for urban garden research that can be scaled up and co-designed with communities in a systematic way has been identified to address social isolation, environmental sustainability, health and wellbeing.
Investigators: Dr Jonathan Kingsley, Professor Takemi Sugiyama, Dr Nyssa Hadgraft, Dr Manoj Chandrabose, Professor Neville Owen and Professor Niki Frantzeskaki.
Contact
Dr Jonathan (Yotti) Kingsley
For older adults whose functional capacity is declining as they age, neighbourhood environments can play an important role. Living in more walkable environments with shops, services and pedestrian infrastructure can facilitate daily physical activity, which can help them to maintain functional capacity. This project aims to identify specific environmental attributes that may be modified to promote active ageing and ageing in place.
Investigators: Professor Takemi Sugiyama, Dr Takumi Abe, Dr Nyssa Hadgraft, Dr Manoj Chandrabose, Dr Jonathan Kingsley and Professor Neville Owen.
Contact
Professor Takemi Sugiyama
Employees in office settings spend most of their working days sitting. Desk-bound work can involve prolonged, unbroken periods of time spent sitting, which is known to be associated with greater risk of chronic disease. This project examines how occupational sitting is related to workers’ health and performance-related outcomes, and which office design attributes may be modified to promote less sitting at work. How office spaces are used will likely be different in the post-COVID-19 era. There is scope for a new research agenda in the context of the ‘new normal’.
Investigators: Dr Nyssa Hadgraft, Professor Takemi Sugiyama and Professor Neville Owen.
Contact
Dr Nyssa Hadgraft
Travel behaviours — including walking, cycling, public transport use and car use — have varying health implications. Given that car use is the predominant travel mode in many countries, promoting active travel is a priority in the health and transport fields. However, how travel modes are distributed in different groups of people, neighbourhoods, cities and countries is not clear, which makes it difficult to identify target areas for policy interventions. This research project uses data from household travel surveys (large data sets that document people’s travel behaviours) and population health surveys to assist with our investigation.
Investigators: Professor Takemi Sugiyama, Dr Takumi Abe, Dr Nyssa Hadgraft, Dr Manoj Chandrabose and Professor Neville Owen.
Contact
Professor Takemi Sugiyama
Health inequalities are a chronic societal problem without simple solutions. What matters in this context is not only who you are but also where you live, since disadvantaged areas may support unhealthy behaviours conducive to increased risk of chronic disease (such as physical inactivity or a poor diet). This project aims to identify environmental means to mitigate socioeconomic inequalities in health.
Investigators: Professor Takemi Sugiyama, Dr Nyssa Hadgraft, Dr Manoj Chandrabose, Professor Neville Owen and Professor Niki Frantzeskaki.
Contact
Professor Takemi Sugiyama
Our publications
Our other research programs
Contact the Centre for Urban Transitions
There are many ways to engage with us. If your organisation is dealing with a complex problem, get in touch to discuss how we can work together to provide solutions. Call us on +61 3 9214 5286 or email cutransitions@swinburne.edu.au.