SHINE HIT review of 2018-19

Co-Directors of the Supporting Healthy Inclusive Neighbourhood Environments HIT (SHINE), Dr Adrian Davis and Dr Suzanne Audrey, reflect on their progress over the past 12 months.

This year, SHINE has continued its work to make Bristol a healthier city, promoting city planning for health and built environments that help people to be more healthy.

Suzanne co-ordinated a successful joint SHINE and Bristol Walking Alliance event in October 2018, focusing on pedestrian crossings in Bristol. This event theme clearly struck a chord, and was attended by more than 90 people – including the public, and practitioners in the field of public health, transport and planning. This highlighted many issues for pedestrians which will be taken forward by Bristol Walking Alliance including the type and timing of pedestrian crossings, and the design of informal crossing points.

The team also published a systematic review in Health and Place examining the impact of changes to the environment that affect the mental health and well-being of adults and older adults.

We also received a £2,000 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (ESRC-IAA) to buy equipment to count pedestrians. This collaboration between Suzanne, Dr Nikolai Bode of Bristol University Engineering Department, Bristol City Council and Bristol Walking Alliance will:

• summarise current pedestrian data held by Bristol City Council
• examine data collection methods used
• assess the potential to use new technologies to enable and improve pedestrians counts

This work is of interest to council officers responsible for the infrastructure supporting active transport, including projects under the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).

SHINE Directors contributed comments to Bristol and West of England Combined Authority transport plans, including the LCWIP, with a particular focus on meeting some of the aims to improve the environment for pedestrians.

Suzanne spoke at Public Health and Sustainable Transport summit, Bristol City Hall, on 27 March 2019 on the importance of walking for transport, and at the Bristol Forum on 29 March 2019, on the importance of inclusive, walkable neighbourhoods.

Adrian has produced a School Travel Toolbox of 20 one-page evidence summaries on aspects of school travel for use by schools, parents and local communities, hosted on the Travelwest website. He continues to produce Essential Evidence on a Page for the same website.

Adrian finished work as an evidence and effectiveness consultant for Bristol City Council after 11 years of part-time work, although he remains contracted to the West of England Directors of Public Health. He wrote the response for the Directors of Public Health to the consultation on the West of England Local Transport Plan 4.