Status report - The Public Health and Planning 101 project: strengthening collaborations between the public health and planning professions

Abstract

The Public Health and Planning 101 project aimed to increase cross-disciplinary knowledge among public health and planning professionals involved in the land use planning process. The multi-disciplinary project team administered an online survey in 2012 to Ontario public health and planning professionals in order to identify learning needs related to the built environment that would inform the development of the education module. The survey asked about built environment work, experience with collaborations, barriers faced working with the other profession, and learning needs. Most survey respondents agreed that both professions should be working together on the built environment, although only half indicated they actually were. The survey findings revealed the need for an education module to help public health and planning professionals collaborate in the land use planning process in Ontario, and to help inform policy related to healthy built environments.