Healthy Urban Planning: Ambitions, Practices and Prospects in a Norwegian Context: Fid-Bau Portal

Healthy Urban Planning: Ambitions, Practices and Prospects in a Norwegian Context

Hofstad, Hege

This article addresses the state of urban planning for health in Norway. The country has a long planning tradition, and a constant focus on public health work, so if an integration of health promotion and planning were to succeed, it would most likely be in Norway. This article focuses on the current state of affairs by addressing the following questions: What are the national ambitions concerning health in planning, and how is planning thought to promote health? How are national ambitions translated into local planning in Norwegian municipalities? What are the prospects for further integration between health and urban planning? The intersection between national ambitions and local practices is studied by analysing core national policy documents, survey data from a lateral section of Norwegian municipalities, and qualitative interviews with core actors at the local level. This paper fills a gap in urban planning research, where broad studies of the integration of public health issues at the local level are rare. Its analysis reveals that healthy urban planning has not yet been achieved, even in Norway. There is little knowledge transfer and interaction between planners and public health coordinators, and it has proven difficult to incorporate public health themes that are out of rhythm with planning's traditional focus. However, the activities of thirty municipalities at the forefront of healthy planning show promising signs and there are elements in current planning that may help build towards a healthy urban planning in future.