Integrated planning for healthy communities: Victorian state government policy and practice

© 2016 Dr. Melanie Danica LoweIntegrated planning across policy sectors is critical for creating healthy and ‘complete’ communities, where jobs and essential infrastructure and services are easily accessible from homes via walking, cycling and/or public transport. Yet there is no consensus in the literature on definitions or optimal models for achieving integrated planning. Melbourne in the state of Victoria, Australia, is experiencing unprecedented rapid population growth, especially in outer north and west suburban developments. These communities are experiencing significant public health challenges associated with low-densities, single land uses and car-dependence, including physical inactivity, poorer diets and social isolation. Thus, this thesis aimed to examine the extent of, and enablers and barriers to, health-promoting integrated planning across Victorian state government policy sectors. The focus was on the underlying determinants of healthy communities in Melbourne’s North and West Metropolitan Region - housing, transport, employment, education, and health and social infrastructure. As Portland, Oregon, USA is widely regarded as a leading example of metropolitan-wide integrated planning, Portland’s planning activities were also examined to ascertain potential lessons for Victoria and other contexts. Content analysis was undertaken of Victorian state government policies and legislation that shape the health of urban environments, as well as the City of Portland’s planning strategy. In addition, the perspectives and experiences of senior policymakers from the Victorian state government and the City of Portland were explored through semi-structured in-depth interviews. Walt and Gilson’s (1994) policy analysis framework was used to assess and categorise barriers and enablers of integrated planning into context, actor, process, and content factors. Despite clear aspirations and efforts at health-promoting integrated planning in Victoria, this research suggests that key challenges remain, such as a lack of inter-sectoral collaboration and the disconnection between land use planning and infrastructure and service delivery. Recommendations for improving the governance context, policy processes and content, and strengthening leadership and policy networks were developed into a model of health-promoting integrated planning. This model combines the empirical findings with existing literature, and could be applied by policymakers in Victoria and beyond to create healthier communities through integrated planning