Healthy Streets for Auckland

Healthy Streets for Auckland

Join us at Auckland Conversations on 2 August to learn about the relationship between public health and urban planning from one of the world’s leading experts.  

Aucklanders are facing significant health challenges. The rate of obesity is increasing, the number of children walking and cycling to school is decreasing and we are suffering from poor mental health. We are also suffering from transport poverty, air pollution and struggling local economies. While relevant to all Aucklanders, these issues disproportionately affect poorer people. It is time for a more inclusive approach to urban design. 

Lucy Saunders is a leading public health consultant who developed the Healthy Streets™ approach  used by Transport for London (TfL). She also authored the worlds’ first Transport Health Action Plan which was also adopted by TfL. In this highly-articulate Auckland Conversation, Lucy will use epidemiology, transport planning and urban design to show that Healthy Streets™ make sense for people’s physical and mental wellbeing. She will also explain how the main elements needed in public spaces to improve people’s health are the same as those needed to make urban places vibrant, inclusive, safe and environmentally sustainable. 

Auckland needs to reduce the barriers to public health. Come and learn how we can do this.

This Auckland Conversation is brought to you in partnership with Auckland Transport

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Lucy Saunders

Public Health Specialist

Lucy Saunders is a Consultant in Public Health specialising in transport, public realm and planning. She developed the Healthy Streets Approach™ and the 10 Healthy Streets Indicators™ in 2011.In 2015 she was awarded Transport Planner of the Year by the Transport Planning Society and her work won awards from the international UITP and UK Chartered Institute for Highways and Transportation.Lucy currently leads on the integration of transport and public health in London supporting Transport for London, boroughs and advocacy organisations. Lucy works across both the Greater London Authority and Transport for London embedding the Healthy Streets Approach in policy and practice. In 2014 TfL became the first transport authority in the world to publish a Health Action Plan which Lucy wrote and lead its 3-year implementation.Lucy has worked as a Public Health Specialist across a wide range of organisations from local to international level including NHS, government, academic, private and voluntary sector. She advises the World Health Organisation and the UK Government Departments for Transport and Health and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).She gained Fellowship of the UK Faculty of Public Health in 2012 on completion of the UK specialist medical training programme in Public Health. She has masters degrees in geography and public health.

Councillor Richard Hills

Environment and Climate Change Committee Chair, Auckland Council

Councillor Richard Hills is chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee and North Shore ward Councillor. He is a second term councillor and, when elected, was the second youngest councillor in Auckland Council History. He is Auckland Council’s first rainbow councillor and belongs to Ngā Puhi.Councillor Hills’ priorities include people, public transport, climate change, youth, mental health, and the environment. He is currently leading Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri, the Auckland response to climate change.Prior to election as a councillor, Cr Hills spent two terms as a member of the Kaipātiki Local Board and was a youth worker, employed across health boards in Auckland.

Dr Michael Hale

Public Health Medicine Specialist, Auckland Regional Public Health Service

Dr Michael Hale is a public health medicine specialist at  Auckland Regional Public Health Service where he is the clinical lead for nutrition, physical activity promotion, healthy urban form and pertussis. He is part of the Healthy Auckland Together coalition which is changing our city so it is easy for our people to eat well and be active.  Michael has had over 14 years’ experience in the public health sector, including roles in the Heart Foundation, the National Screening Unit and the Health Quality and Safety Commission. Michael is interested is how urban and transport planning can improve wellbeing in our neighbourhoods and how we can reduce the promotion and availability of unhealthy food in favour of nutritious food.

Shane Ellison

Chief Executive, Auckland Transport

Shane Ellison has been CEO at Auckland Transport since December 2017.He has over 20 years global experience in senior leadership roles across the transport and infrastructure sectors.Most recently, these included being the International Development Officer and Chief Operating Officer (New South Wales and Queensland) for Transdev, the world’s largest private operator of public transport.He was a key member of the consortium which secured the tender for Sydney’s $2.2 billion light rail project, currently under construction.Born and raised in the South Island he has whakapapa linking him to the iwi of Ngai Tahu and Te Ati Awa.At Auckland Transport his key focus areas are on the delivery of the region’s largest ever infrastructure development programme, road safety, and organisational transformation around responsiveness and providing better customer experiences.

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