The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being: Shaping a Sustainable and Healthy Future

The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being: Shaping a Sustainable and Healthy Future, Hugh Barton, Susan Thompson, Sarah Burgess and Marcus Grant (eds), Oxford, Routledge, 2015, xxxiv+617 pp, £130 (hardback), ISBN978113802 3307The pursuit of public health through spatial planning has attracted growing support in recent years. In many respects, however, 'healthy planning' is still very much a nascent subject area. The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being (' The Handbook') is therefore a welcome addition to this emergent field. The Handbook is a substantial text, both physically and in terms of its scope. With a list of contributors (61 in total) extending over eight pages, the book contains 41 chapters and spans more than 600 pages. It is possible to view (and thus read) the book in two ways. First, as a handbook or reference book for those interested in healthy planning. Secondly, as a manifesto for why we need to reposition health as the central goal of planning (a point passionately set out in the book's introduction and epilogue). It calls for us not merely to place health back onto the planning agenda, but rather to make health the agenda of planning.The Handbook explores multiple dimensions of the healthy planning debate, with the text itself organised into five parts. To begin, Part I introduces readers to the themes addressed throughout the book. Freestone and Wheeler's chapter on the history of Western planning, examined through a public health lens, is of particular merit. Parts II and III then form a comprehensive presentation of current knowledge on the ways the environment influences people's health. Together, they provide a valuable insight into this environment-health relationship, how we research this connection, and areas where policy-makers might better focus their attention. In short, the scale of evidence and the accessible style in which it is presented is impressive, and no doubt many will find this useful.Part IV then examines how decisions relating to the built environment are undertaken. It examines a range of tools and processes available and the opportunities that exist for creating a 'better' built environment - some of which are arguably more readily adoptable (e.g. Cave's discussion of Impact Assessment) than others (e.g. Falk's promotion of a model of public-sector-led development). Given that many of the authors are identified as experienced practitioners, the section has particular pertinence for built environment professionals and community groups.Finally, Part V reports on a variety of ways in which spatial planning is being used to promote health and well-being outcomes. Cases from several global regional contexts - Oceania, Asia, Europe and North America - are examined. The section highlights that while context is important (e.g. national income or the planning regime), many health issues (e. …