After a decade of development, a new model designed to assess the health impacts of urban development has been adopted by the UK government. The Health Appraisal of Urban Systems (HAUS) model was developed through TRUUD (Tackling Root Causes Upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development), a research programme focused on addressing the upstream drivers of unhealthy urban environments.
HAUS provides a framework to help policymakers and planners understand how decisions about housing, transport and the built environment can influence population health and wellbeing. The model enables health impacts to be considered alongside economic and environmental factors when evaluating development proposals.
The approach has been incorporated into the appraisal guidance used by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to assess housing and urban development investments. This means health outcomes can now be formally considered when evaluating major development decisions.
