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Choosing your ideal neighbourhood is personal, and may be based on affordability, commute time, quality of schools and perhaps proximity to friends and family. But did you know that your neighbourhood choice impacts your health? 

Dr. Gavin McCormack, PhD, a professor and researcher whose work is at the intersection of design, public health, physical activity and chronic disease prevention, says the built environment – how your neighbourhood and city is designed – can have a large impact on your susceptibility to chronic diseases like heart disease. 

“When people relocate to a new neighbourhood they don’t often think ‘if I am going to live in this neighbourhood for 10 or 20 years, what is the cumulative effect it will have on my health?,’” says McCormack, who leads the at the Cumming School of Medicine. “But it matters for your health.” 

McCormack’s team looks at how factors within the built environment, like walkability, connectivity, density, land uses, proximity to and quality of green and natural spaces and pedestrian infrastructure, influence physical activity and sedentary behaviour, risk factors for cardiovascular disease. His goal is to generate scientific evidence to inform the design of inclusive, health-promoting built environments. 

McCormack says in Canada there have been efforts by municipalities to enhance the health-supportiveness of built environments over the past few decades, but there is still a need for improvement. 

So how can you choose a neighbourhood that promotes, rather than impedes, cardiovascular health? 

“In cities like Calgary, where urban design continues to prioritize automobiles, planning and building health supportive infrastructure can be challenging. The design of our cities and neighbourhoods currently, can make healthy behaviours like physical activity, much more difficult to adopt and maintain” says McCormack. “But there are things individuals can do.” 

McCormack says understanding the health importance of the built environment is critical, as is raising public awareness about this topic.

He encourages residents to get involved early, as both new and established communities are planned, redesigned, and approved by civic leaders. He encourages people to get involved as communities are being designed and approved by civic leaders. 

“What matters is that residents have more of a voice in what their neighbourhoods look like, while also making sure decisions are guided by evidence about what supports healthier communities,” he said. “The goal is to ensure where you live nudges you towards healthy behaviours, such as spending time outdoors, visiting local parks and natural spaces, cycling and walking to destinations instead of driving, and limiting indoor sedentary time – so healthy choices are easy choices.” 

Gavin McCormack is a professor in the Dept. of Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine. He’s a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health.