Moving On From Weight Loss Jabs: Masterplanning's Role in Tackling Obesity Long Term

Local authorities are now being encouraged to use planning, development and the built environment as part of a “whole-systems” approach to healthier communities. Urban designers and masterplanners of new housing schemes have a central role to play in shaping places where being active, in nature and through everyday life, becomes the easiest choice.

Masterplanning for active, nature-rich places
The role of masterplanning must go beyond simply allocating plots and roads - it must be about designing places for people and for nature considering the health of present and future generations. Drawing on guidance such as Active Design Guidance by Sport England, the National Design Guide and the National Model Design Code, masterplanners can craft a built environment that encourages movement, supports nature, nurtures social connection and promotes healthier living.

For example:

• Active travel and car use discouragement: By placing car-parking strategically, limiting cul-de-sacs, and designing high-quality public and active-travel infrastructure, we can reduce sedentary travel and support movement by bike, foot or transit. The built form must prioritise walking, cycling and wheeling over car-dependence. Sport England’s Active Design consultation document states that people in “activity-friendly” neighbourhoods may be physically active for up to 90 minutes more per week than those in poor-design areas. Masterplanning should ensure direct, safe, pleasant routes between home, school, workplaces, retail, parks and transit.
• Creating opportunities to spend time in nature and in open spaces: Nature is a key characteristic of the National Design Guide. We as masterplanners must integrate green spaces, tree belts, wildlife corridors and natural features into housing schemes as attractive high-quality spaces so that residents choose  to spend time outdoors, reduce sedentary behaviour and benefit mentally as well as physically.
• Self-growing food and local economy: A masterplan should include community allotments, orchards, edible landscapes, farm shops and mixed-use local centres so that people interact with the food system, walk or cycle to it, and support the local economy. This contributes to healthier diets, stronger place-based identity and community connection. Gardening is one of the healthiest ways for communities and individuals to contribute to tackle both climate change and obesity.
• Gathering spaces and social life: The design of neighbourhoods must include spaces where people meet, relax, socialise and exercise informally, such as squares, pocket greens, trails, seating, outdoor gym areas and play for all ages. Social interaction is an enabler of physical activity and mental wellbeing.

Bringing it all together in the masterplanner’s toolkit
The National Model Design Code emphasises that large site masterplanning should cover public open spaces, connections, street hierarchy and land uses. This offers a mechanism to embed healthy-weight objectives into the very fabric of placemaking. Masterplanners can set design codes or parameters that mandate high walkability, mixed uses within a short distance, green networks, community food hubs, cycle routes, compact car parking and active frontage around public spaces.

Furthermore, when working through the six elements highlighted in the TCPA’s Building the Foundations: tackling obesity through planning and development  (movement and access,  open space, recreation and play,  food environment,  neighbourhood spaces,  building design,  local economy), masterplanners have a clear agenda to deliver. For example, rejecting mono-use residential estates disconnected from amenities discourages walking; placing children’s play and sport nodes at the heart of neighbourhoods supports everyday movement rather than occasional gym visits.

By designing for people first with nature integrated, masterplanners can create genuinely healthy environments. Ensuring routes are safe, accessible and attractive for walking and cycling encourages modest exercise many times a day rather than concentrated effort. Making allotments and market hubs part of the plan embeds self-growing into daily life. Positioning bus stops, shops and workplaces within easy walkability encourages sustainable modes rather than car-first layouts. Meanwhile, the natural environment is not an afterthought, it is core to the blueprint: green corridors, tree cover, wetlands, edible landscapes all encourage time outdoors and reduce stress, which is linked to better weight outcomes.

Conclusion
Tackling obesity is not simply about individual diets or gym memberships. It is fundamentally about designing places where healthy living is the default, not the exception. Masterplanners have an extraordinary opportunity and responsibility to embed physical activity, nature and sustainable transport into the DNA of new neighbourhoods. By drawing on frameworks such as Active Design, the National Design Guide and the National Model Design Code, they can shape places that support movement, nature, self-growing, local economy, social connection and sustainable modes of travel. Done well, this approach will reduce the burden of obesity over time, improve quality of life and deliver long-term health and economic benefits for generations to come.

We as built environment professionals have a great responsibility for the future generations, and we should start by changing the old stories behind our concept plans and masterplans and promote places designed for health and wellbeing. Considering car accessibility as one of the first criteria in developing a new neighbourhood is sadly still a discussion  between developers and local authorities in 2025.   In my view, urban designers should aim high standards of delivering beautiful, healthy spaces where life thrives  as part of our role, otherwise we fail as professionals.