Responsive environments: An outline of a method for determining context sensitive planning interventions to enhance health and wellbeing

Much thinking in planning for health and wellbeing is guided by a focus on the fair distribution of ‘goods’ such as proximity to accessible green space or the provision of facilities like outdoor gym equipment, cycleways and playgrounds. Less attention is focused on the aspirations which people seek these ‘goods’ to help realise. Hence, this paper presents and discusses an exploratory approach aimed at helping planning support user desires. It does so by advancing a method informed through the integration of the ‘Capability Approach’ and ‘Affordances Theory’. The paper first identifies and summarises deficiencies in the prevailing approach to planning for health and wellbeing. The primary elements of the Capability Approach and Affordances Theory are then outlined and discussed as correctives to these deficiencies. How these inform the development of a method for planning more responsive environments is outlined and a description of this method is provided. The advantages of this method are subsequently illustrated through a review of its application to three exploratory case studies. The paper closes with some summary conclusions on the benefit of this approach in the context of the critique provided at the beginning of the paper, with specific reference to how it may complement rather than challenge the prevailing approach to planning for health and wellbeing.