The high life: A policy audit of apartment design guidelines and their potential to promote residents' health and wellbeing

《The high life: A policy audit of apartment design guidelines and their potential to promote residents' health and wellbeing》

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作者: Sarah Foster;Paula Hooper;Alexandra Kleeman;Erika Martino;Billie Giles-Corti

关键字: Apartment design;Health and wellbeing;High density;Health audit;Policy;Australia

作者单位: Centre for Urban Research, School of Global Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia;Australian Urban Design Research Centre, School of Design, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia;Centre for Urban Research, School of Global Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia;Australian Urban Design Research Centre, School of Design, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia

摘要: Globally, the rapid construction of apartments has ignited concerns about the quality and amenity of new housing, and the impact of poor design on residents. In Australia, different planning policies/guidelines for apartment development apply across states, however there has been no assessment of how these policies address health. We audited apartment design guidance for their inclusion of provisions that impact on health and wellbeing. Policies/guidelines (n = 10) were reviewed, including both current and proposed/superseded documents in states undergoing policy change to track policy progression. Requirements were extracted relating to health-promoting themes identified in the literature (e.g., daylight, ventilation, acoustic privacy, space). Each policy/guideline was scored based on the percentage of health-promoting design criteria addressed. Scores for current policies ranged from 83% (New South Wales) to 20% (Queensland and South Australia). Scores in states undergoing policy change increased, indicating a greater focus on health (e.g., 11% to 75% in Western Australia). Where minimum space standards were stipulated, there was a lack of agreement about where the standard should be set. Several states had policies that, if fully implemented, could promote residents' health. However, post-implementation evaluation is required to assess whether guidelines are applied as intended and provide evidence to inform minimum standards.