Post update: webinar recording

Over 350 people tuned in and joined us and our colleagues at the Town & Country Planning Association and Dorset Council for this webinar last week. Thanks to everyone for joining in and for contributing excellent questions and comments throughout.

We kicked off with an introduction to how health inequalities and green/blue infrastructure are related, with some evidence and examples of the kinds of local and national planning and environmental policies and interventions that might have an impact. We then introduced the first phase of this project, and Mark outlined our initial complex system mapping activity. Our collaborators from Dorset, Rupert Lloyd and Amy Smith then presented a case study on how considerations of nature accessibility and inequalities have been woven into the draft Dorset Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

Discussions ranged far and wide, with points raised such as the need for green and blue spaces that respond to the needs of local communities, and how the potential impacts on health and how they are distributed more or less equitably situate within wider social, demographic and cultural circumstances. Lots for us to think about and some very useful questions and comments that will help us to shape the project as it progresses.

You can download the slide deck and view the recording of the webinar below. If you want to keep up-to-date with the project we now have a LinkedIn project page to share updates.

Working together with our collaborators the Town & Country Planning Association, we’re holding a webinar this October on Tackling health inequalities through green and blue infrastructure. The webinar is intended as an introduction to the topic, and will cover related evidence and a local area case study with colleagues from another collaborator, Dorset Council. It’s 12.00-1.30pm on 23rd October 2025.

The webinar is associated with our NIHR-funded research project, which aims to grow our understanding of how policies and actions related to planning, managing, and investing in natural environments might help to reduce health inequalities. It’s aimed at all colleagues working in fields related to these topics, but may be especially relevant for professionals in planning, public health, environmental and other services in UK local authorities.

The agenda will include:

• Introduction and evidence on green/blue infrastructure and health inequalities. Julia Thrift – TCPA Director, Healthier Place-making & Prof Ben Wheeler, Professor in Environment, Health and Inequalities, University of Exeter
• How can planning and environmental interventions impact green/blue infrastructure-health inequalities systems? Prof Ben Wheeler & Dr Mark Ferguson
• Case study: Greenspace access, public health and the Local Nature Recovery Strategies in urban and rural Dorset: Rupert Lloyd – Senior Health Programme Advisor & Amy Smith – Local Nature Recovery Officer, Dorset Council 

There will also be plenty of time for Q&A and discussion.

Register here at the TCPA website – the webinar is free to attend.

Ben Wheeler, Population Health Career Scientist Award (NIHR303612) is funded by the NIHR for this research project. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS or the UK Department of Health and Social Care.