(De)constructing health and wellbeing through data

The first year of the project focuses on an extensive literature review that sets out the intricacies of health and wellbeing determinants. These are mapped conceptually, with a classification framework developed to capture the range and scale of determinants and their associated factors.

To illustrate this complexity, the project uses one of the most pressing health-related issues – air pollution – to demonstrate that access to diverse and well-structured data is essential for mapping, visualising and analysing interactions and trade-offs. This approach highlights how a comprehensive examination of the determinants influencing health and wellbeing is central not only to measuring and evaluating health inequalities, but also to informing academic research and policymaking.

The second and third years of the project build on the framework developed in year one and test its application in a specific physical context: the park. This pilot study draws on surveys and interviews to deepen understanding of the relationship between parks and health and wellbeing – a relationship that is often framed primarily through environmental and economic data, while overlooking the subjective and emotional experiences of those who use and value these spaces.

Through the exploration of three green areas in the London Borough of Haringey, the project addresses the question, “What do people value in their parks?”, helping to identify the multiple factors that influence park use and their potential contribution to health and wellbeing. This pilot study contributes to a wider academic and policy dialogue on how parks are planned, designed, and maintained.

Working collaboratively with the authoritative geographic data intelligence provided by OS, the project reinforces the importance of translating lived experience into spatial data to support improved measurement of policy effects, and to help prioritise action and maximise impact. The development of this framework could ultimately lead to the creation of a Park Value Index to support planners and policymakers in understanding the role of placemaking in health inequalities and, crucially, in identifying interventions that could help reduce local disparities. A series of outputs, available below, were developed during the second and third years of the project.