The relationship between the built environment, transport and healthy communities has entered a phase of renewed focus, due to the rapid rise of chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease, and increasing prevalence of social isolation. The 'Garden City' principles of a healthy city espoused by Ebenzer Howard, have been rapidly usurped by changing patterns of settlement such as urban sprawl, increased reliance on the automobile, poorly integrated transport and the failure of planning and urban design to encourage physical mobility and active transport. In this subject, students take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationships between health, transport infrastructure and policy, settlement planning, and the enactment of identity, behaviours, lifestyle and ability (including disability, class, ethnicity, and age), in the pursuit of building healthier communities.

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